Vallaslin and Lyrium
by shadowsilv3r
Summary: Fenris and Merrill have both been captured by slavers bound for Tevinter, and escaping is only the first of many deadly obstacles they will have to overcome, including their own clashing personalities, and perhaps something even worse, an attraction that turns into something more. one of the chapters have been replaced with a plea to the community to help change the site policy.
1. The Maker Hates me

**Ever since I started writing the story 'Odyssey of the Wolf' I've become fairly depressed since the story I've been writing was so dark, so I decided to write something, a little bit lighter, lighter in the fact that no characters I grew attached to won't die in this one.**

**This takes place a few months after the end of Act II**

**Read review and be nice.**

Chapter 1

_The Maker hates me,_ Fenris repeated in his head for the millionth time today alone, and it hadn't even reached high noon yet. He tugged at the rune infused bindings that held his wrists together behind his back to no avail; he then tried the binds on his ankles for the millionth time as well. There was something about the runes that prevented him from phasing through them, these slavers had prepared for everything.

"Any luck?" said the only person on the Tevinter bound wagon that wasn't a slaver.

"What do you think, Merrill?" Fenris hissed venomously at his long time companion, well, more like acquaintance, in fact, more like crazy monstrosity acting as a naive innocent little girl he had been forced to tolerate for three years.

"Is that a no?" she asked while those wide, innocent eyes of hers looked at him.

"Yes, that's a no," Fenris said slowly as if talking to a child.

"Don't worry Fenris, we'll find a way out of this," She said in that strangely cheery tone of hers.

Fenris released a heavy sigh as he shook his head. He had spent six years on the run from Danarius, fending off or evading slavers that intended to return him to his master. All of them had failed in recapturing him, and the one time that he finally got caught they had to capture the blood mage as well.

"What are they going to do to us?" Merrill asked with a concerned voice.

"I told you already, they're going to return me to Danarius and either send you off to the slave auctions or keep you to pleasure themselves," Fenris replied while giving a cold glance at Merrill who was shaking like a leaf.

"Can we change the subject please? I don't like this conversation, and you really don't think they would do that to me…do you? Cause that would be really mean and-"

"Will you stop rambling already!" Fenris yelled, which got one of the slavers that was sitting on the wagon with them to walk over and slap the male elf across the face.

"For the love of Andraste, shut the hell up both of you!" The slaver that hit Fenris yelled.

Fenris glared at the slaver, and noticed the tattoo of a hanged elf on the man's left bicep; he was going to die by Fenris' hand.

V

Garrett Hawke starred out into the great expanse before him: which comprised of nothing but endless forest, revealing nothing. He stared nonetheless as though the secrets of the world where hidden in this scenic viewpoint atop the cliff. The sound of rushing water from the waterfall to his immediate left would normally have been soothing, but he was too worried to relax.

Hawke finally tore his eyes away from the impressive view to look up the dead tree to his immediate right as he yelled so he could be heard over the waterfall, "You see anything!"

"Only forest, lots and lots of forest!" Isabella yelled from atop the tree that she was using to get a better view with her telescope, hoping to find some trace of the slavers that had taken the elves.

Hawke shook his head in frustration before he yelled back, "Come on down, that tree doesn't look too stable rooted precariously over the edge of the cliff!"

As Isabella made her way down the tree, Hawke turned around to look at his remaining companions who were busy breaking camp. It had been two weeks since those slavers had captured Fenris and Merrill and he had gathered all his available allies, Anders, Isabella, Sebastian, and Varric, Aveline hadn't been available because she was on her honeymoon with Donnic in Orlais.

The moment Isabella landed gracefully on her feet the two made their way back to the campsite as the pirate asked, "So what now?"

"Now we need to get down this cliff," Hawke responded, then turned to Varric and asked, "Are you sure this is the slave route that they would have taken?"

"Hey, my contacts are reliable Hawke, they're selfish and won't speak unless I pay e'm a sovereign upfront, but they're reliable," Varric argued as he finished rolling up his bedroll.

"Well they better be reliable, because we need to find Fenris and Merrill now!" Hawke yelled louder than he had intended, causing Varric to visibly wince.

"Look Hawke, I know you're worried about Elf and Daisy, we all are,"

At that moment the two heard a snort come from Anders, causing Varric to quickly add, "Well, we're all worried about Daisy at least."

Hawke pinched the bridge of his nose to try and make the headache that was forming subside, but it didn't help. It had been over two weeks since Fenris and Merrill were captured and all he could think about was saving them.

Once they were finished breaking camp the five companions began to walk along the cliff looking for a way down. They would have climb down the cliff if it weren't for Varric being a dwarf.

Hawke looked out into the distance again; knowing somewhere out there his friends needed them.

V

"Now if you would just reposition yourself, I think I can cut your binds with my gauntlets," Fenris whispered as he started to turn so he and Merrill's backs were pressed together. The slaver caravan had stopped just outside a small town; out of the thirty or so slavers, all but three had gone down to the town to get supplies, and possibly more slaves, leaving the other three to watch over the two elves. He was thankful that the three slavers were too busy either eating around the campfire or polishing their swords to watch the captives. This gave Fenris the opportunity to try and free himself and Merrill.

The fact that they had their hands bound behind their backs didn't make things easy for Fenris, since he couldn't quite see his or Merrill's hands; he was pretty much working blind.

"Owww, Fenris watch it!" Merrill shouted loudly by accident, causing them to freeze when they heard one of the slavers bellow with a deeply accented voice, "Hey, what do you two think you're doing!"

Fenris glanced over Merrill's head to see that one of the slavers, a big burly man with a grey beard that went down to his stomach, walking over towards them with a disapproving scowl on his face.

"Just let me do all the talking, ok?" Fenris whispered before he moved himself away from Merrill so the burly slaver didn't see what he was doing.

"What do you two think you're doing?" the slaver repeated as he stood in front of the two elves.

"Fenris just looked up at the man and shrugged as he said, "She got stung by a bee."

"A bee she calls Fenris?"

"It's Elven for bee," Fenris lied, hoping that the slaver was as stupid as he was ugly.

The slaver bent down to stare Fenris right in the eye, the elf could see every dirt filled pore on the man's face as he spoke, "Do you think me stupid, Fenris?"

_The Maker hates me…_

"That's right, I know who you are, and you were trying to free your little girlfriend, weren't you?" the Slaver pointed out.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!" the two elves spoke in unison, both disgusted at the thought.

The slaver didn't say anything as he reached out and grabbed Fenris by the wrists and looked at his gauntlets as he said, "we should have taken these off of you."

Before Fenris could say anything his forehead was hit by the hilt of the slavers sword, and then everything went black.

Merrill winced as she watched the impact. Once the slaver checked that Fenris was unconscious he motioned for the other slavers to come over and keep watch before he bent down to undo the binds on Fenris' wrist so he could remove the gauntlets.

With the gauntlets removed the burly slaver tossed the two pieces of armor aside, and began retying the rune covered binds. Merrill glanced over to the other two slavers who were whispering to each other before they looked hungrily at her.

Panic began to spread inside Merrill at the realization of what they were about to do. She started scooting away from the two slavers that began an advance on her.

Right before they touched her, the burly slaver punched one of the other slavers on the face as he bellowed, "the boss wants the female 'unspoiled'; she'll sell for a higher price that way!"

Merrill released a sigh of relief as the other two slavers walked away; she then glanced over to the burly slaver and said in a weak voice, "thank you."

"Keep your bloody thanks, you're more valuable unspoiled," he then turned around to walk back to the campfire without another word.

Merrill then slid back to Fenris' unconscious body and just sat there, praying to the creators that he would wake up soon.

_**Author's note**_:

**I don't know if I will make this a Romance or not, so leave in the comments if you want that.**


	2. The Slaver Ship

**Bioware owns Dragon age and all related characters.**

Chapter 2

Fenris slowly awoke to the next day feeling oddly content, but once he opened his eyes that feeling instantly vanished and was replaced with paralyzing shock and extreme discomfort.

Merrill was sleeping right up against his left side.

If it weren't for his hands being tied up behind his back he would have immediately shoved her away; so he just laid there perfectly still to avoid waking her up and watched her.

She had her head peacefully rested atop his shoulder, and her breasts were up against his side. The only other person he would probably loath more to be sleeping in this position with would be Anders.

Before he knew it he was shivering from the unwanted contact he was receiving; he felt like he was having a seizure.

Then to add insult to injury; Merrill subconsciously sighed and snuggled closer into him. Fenris was practically inhaling her raven black hair.

At that point Fenris had had enough and simply lifted his shoulder so Merrill's head slipped off and slammed into the ground, waking her up instantly.

"Oww, who…?" Merrill said as she looked around rapidly searching for the culprit. Once she noticed Fenris she plastered on a smile and said, "Oh, morning Fenris, how are you today?"

"Get away from me," Fenris simply said, glaring bloody murder at her.

"What?" she asked sleepily, still a little sluggish despite having smashed her head to the ground.

"Get! Away! From! Me!" Fenris repeated with a little more Authority.

Merrill looked down and realized what he meant, so she wiggled away from Fenris while having a slight blush on her face as she tried to apologize, "right, um… sorry about that, I-I forgot that you hate to be touched, I should never have… is it getting warm in…"

"Merrill!" Fenris interrupted; stopping Merrill mid-sentence.

"Yes Fenris?"

"Shut up," was all that Fenris said; which seemed to do the trick.

Fenris started to push himself up so he could get a hold of his bearings, which was difficult since his hands and feet were bound. Once he managed to sit himself up he realized something, his gauntlets were gone.

"What happened to my gauntlets?" he asked Merrill, only to receive silence in return.

Fenris glanced over to her, and she in return raised an eyebrow.

"Well?" Fenris asked.

Still silence.

It then dawned on Fenris as to why Merrill wasn't talking and said, "You can speak now."

"That one fairly large slaver with the beard knocked you out and took off your gauntlets," Merrill explained.

Fenris released a sigh as he looked at his surroundings. The rest of the slavers had returned from the town and had fully set up camp. The sun was about to rise in a few hours, and everyone seemed to be sleeping. So Fenris figured now was the perfect time to try another escape attempt.

"Quick, let me see your legs," Fenris whispered in a serious tone to Merrill.

"Wait… what? Did I miss something dirty again?" Merrill replied to the strange request with a strange question.

"What? No! I'm going to try and bite through the binds on your ankles," Fenris explained.

"Why not do that to the binds on our wrists?" Merrill asked.

"Because, then we would have to untie our leg bindings afterwards and every second counts here, and I'd rather we ran with our hands tied then get caught because we were a few seconds late," Fenris reasoned.

Merrill nodded in understanding before she shifted her legs over to Fenris who went to work as he bent down and started biting at the leather binds.

V

Hawke slapped himself across his face as the cloud of drowsiness threatened to overtake him. His shift of nightly guard duty had ended an hour ago, but he wanted his companions to get the extra rest.

He stared out into the darkness of the forest that the group had made camp in. He eventually lost track of time and started to doze off.

"You are aware that your shifted ended forever ago, right?"

Hawke was instantly snapped awake again at the sound of Sebastian's voice. He turned around to find the former prince standing there with his arms crossed.

The two just stood there staring at each other. Garrett Hawke and Sebastian Vael would never be friends. Seeing as after the death of Hawke's mother, the last of his family, had died, Hawke had severed his belief in a merciful Maker and found only the chantry to blame. After all, if the chantry hadn't been so cruel to mages Hawke's life would have been infinitely better; his family wouldn't have been constantly on the run, Bethany wouldn't had been taken to the circle where she had failed her harrowing, that crazy old mage wouldn't have resorted to blood magic and killed his mother just to try and revive his long lost love.

"Go get some rest Hawke, I'll keep watch," said Sebastian

"Fine" was all that Hawke said before he shoved his way past the Choir Boy and went into his bedroll, but sleep did not come quickly.

V

Merrill stared at the leather binds on her ankles; she hoped that the slavers wouldn't notice the teeth marks that covered the leather. Fenris had spent two hours biting the leather and had barely torn a few strands.

Fenris. None of Merrill's companions intrigued her more than the tattooed elf; she honestly compared herself to him a lot and found quite a number of parallels. She had complete respect for him even if he held none for her; they had both suffered loss, Fenris with his memories and her with those she once called family, they had both experienced a cruel world that had thrown the worst at them and they had each found their own way of coping with it, Merrill by trying to ignore it and look at the brighter side of things, while Fenris by simply accepting and embracing the darker side of things and drowning his misery with a calm demeanor and a sharp mind.

What she wanted was to be friends with him, not enemies. They could help each other out, but she knew that this was an impossibility, but that didn't stop her from trying.

She looked over to her right to see that Fenris was staring of into the middle distance, lost in deep thought, likely thinking of ways to escape.

Fenris listened intently to the conversations that the slavers held around him. He at first listened to learn about his opponents, but it had eventually devolved into him just passing the time.

He learned that the burly slaver that knocked him out was named Hector, and that he originated from Nevarra, the country of which they were bordering to the east, south of the Minanter River, between Tantervale and Hasmal.

Their location he learned from two slavers, one of which was the one with the hanged elf tattoo, talking while reading a map. He prayed that Merrill knew how to read a map, because he had no clue how to read, and if they were to get back to Kirkwall they were going to need that map.

He also overheard the path that the slavers were taking to get to Tevinter; they were to head to a small fishing village at the south shore of the Minanter and meet up with a boat and crew that apparently was part of the same slaver organization. From there they would head to the capital of Nevarra to resupply, then loop around to the Imperial Highway and travel atop the ancient walkway to cross the silent plains. From there they would travel the highway all the way to Minrathous.

"Do you think our friends are coming to save us?" Merrill asked, interrupting Fenris' train of thought.

"Most likely," Fenris assured her.

"I bet they miss us," Merrill said miserably. Fenris glanced over to see that she was staring at the floor of the wagon in total defeat.

"Don't worry, we'll get out of this mess," Fenris said calmly, even though he had no idea why he was even trying to comfort Merrill.

She looked up at him feeling a little better. But Fenris didn't notice as he was already looking ahead of the caravan. Merrill looked in the direction that Fenris was facing to see that they were coming into a small town on the shore of the Minanter.

At the far end of the town Merrill could see the port, which mostly had a bunch of small fishing vessels. Except for one which was a large cargo ship that she assumed was the slaver's ship.

The caravan entered the town on the main road of the settlement as the crowd of townsfolk parted ways to avoid the slavers. Merrill watched as a concerned mother told her kid to go inside.

"Why don't the townsfolk help us? Can't they see we're slaves?" Merrill asked Fenris as she watched the mother follow her son inside.

"Because they don't want to risk their lives to save some elves, it's not worth it to them," Fenris explained, causing Merrill to downcast her eyes again.

"Why do the humans hate us so much?" Merrill asked, despite knowing the answer.

At that Fenris scoffed in response before saying, "Because we're 'heretics', because humans enslaving other humans is considered 'unethical' to them."

Fenris watched as Merrill hung her head a even lower, _Good_, he thought, _It's about time she got a taste of the real world,_

They soon passed through the town square and then made their way to the port where the ship was waiting. The caravan stopped and the slavers started to unload their supplies and equipment. Fenris watched as the large slaver named Hector simply walked over and picked Merrill up and tossed her onto his shoulder with the ease of a worker tossing an empty sack onto his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Merrill squeaked as she squirmed to get off.

"Stop your resisting little mouse or I will have Eddie and Wendell have their way with you after all," Hector threatened.

Merrill instantly went still when she noticed the two slavers from before stare over towards her. This personally pissed Fenris off, not that he really cared for Merrill's wellbeing, but because he hated the thought of anyone forcing themselves on another in such a manner.

Hector motioned to the two other slavers, one of which was the one with the elf tattoo that Fenris loathed greatly, to walk over and grab the lyrium engraved elf by the elbows and started dragging him off the wagon.

Fenris growled in protest as his bare toes jabbed against the steps on the back of the wagon. In return, the tattooed slaver slapped Fenris on the back of the head. The elf turned his head towards the slaver and growled at the sight of the slaver's smug smile. Oh, how he was going to enjoy ripping out his heart.

They made their way to the ship and climbed aboard. The moment Fenris was on board he smelled an all too familiar scent, dwarven black powder. Fenris remembered the smell from when he worked as a bodyguard for a dwarven merchant to get across the Silent Planes safely. This would make an interesting advantage for him if he only found a way to get rid of these cursed leather binds.

They made their way below deck into a room that only belonged in Fenris' nightmares; the smell was so overwhelming that it threatened to make him gag; it smelled like rotting corpses and manure. The sight that greeted him was a dark room with rows and rows of elves chained up against the walls with their wrist above their heads; there were old elves, young elves, city elves, and Dalish elves all lined up in the room.

Fenris and Merrill where dragged and carried over to two sets of steel cuffs right next to each other and were hooked up to them. Fenris tugged at the chains and realized that they weren't going to get out of these chains unless they had the keys.

_Great, things are just getting better and better,_ he thought to himself as he tried to come up with a plan to get out…

_**Author's note:**_

**Read, review, and be nice**


	3. Deception and Guilt

**I would like to apologize for not updating sooner. But I promise to make up for that with the largest chapter yet, a little more action on Hawke's group's part, and the introduction of this story's main antagonist.**

**Bioware owns everything including Fenris and Merrill (Sniffs)**

Chapter 3

Merrill was dreaming, that much she was aware of, being a mage had that benefit of retaining some sense of self-consciousness while dreaming. Even though she was perfectly aware that she was dreaming she didn't care; she was back in Kirkwall.

She then quickly realized that she wasn't just dreaming, but remembering. For while she held her perspective, she had no control of her motions in this dream, for they were the very same she had made before, two weeks ago.

She was in Hightown at night, and she remembered why; she was on her way to Garrett Hawke's estate.

She had spent a whole month hiding in her house after the incident with Pol and the Varterral. Sulking in misery at the thought of her whole clan truly thinking she was a monster.

She remembered that she had had a nightmare that night, that her whole clan was burning her alive to 'purify' her of blood magic, and had awoken screaming. She remembered feeling completely alone, only to think of Hawke.

Hawke. He had always been there for her, and right then she had just needed to be with him.

She hadn't gotten the chance.

And there she was, walking through Hightown fidgeting with her ball of twine so she wouldn't lose her way. She had been thinking of what to say to Hawke when she heard the sound of fighting.

Merrill had quickly turned around the corner to find Fenris fighting for his life against about twenty different slavers.

She had quickly pulled her staff off of her back and shot a bolt of chain lightning at the unsuspecting slavers, the electricity bouncing from one slaver's armor to the next.

Fenris, having seen the magic, had turned his head in her direction to see who had cast the spell. A slaver had taken the advantage of the distraction to pummel the hilt of his sword to the back of Fenris' head, knocking him out cold.

Seeing Fenris going down, Merrill had immediately shot a blast of ice magic to freeze another slaver solid. She had then raised her staff to block an incoming blow, but once the staff and sword had collided with each other the staff instantly shattered. The concentrated magic inside the staff had been released in one powerful blast, vaporizing the slaver who took the front of the blast and sending Merrill to fly backwards and smash the back of her head on the stone ground.

Her vision had been swimming as she had struggled to remain conscious; the young elf could make out tall figures standing over her conversing.

"What do we do with this one boss?" one voice had asked.

"We take her too, she'll sell for a decent price in Minrathous," a second had said.

V

"Merrill…Merrill…MERRILL!" Merrill awoke with a start; it took her a second to realize where she was, only to remember that she was on a slave ship bound for Nevarra. She glanced over to her right to find an angry Fenris staring at her.

"Yes?" was all she said.

"You were talking in your sleep, it was disturbing the little one next to you," Fenris pointed out, causing Merrill to glance over to her left to find a young little boy of about seven years looking up at her with wide sad eyes.

"You were having a nightmare," the small child said with a small voice, clearly concerned.

"It's ok Da'len, even adults have nightmares," Merrill tried to reassure the boy, only to get a cough from Fenris.

"What?" Merrill asked.

"You hardly constitute as an adult," Fenris pointed out, his face expressionless.

"Do you not see the Vallaslin on my face? I reached the age of adulthood seven years ago," Merrill reasoned.

"It is not age that shows maturity," Fenris said cryptically, before turning his head in the direction of footsteps from above deck.

"It's roughly midnight, all the slavers that don't need to be up should be asleep right now," Fenris said to no one in particular.

"Maybe they wanted some fresh nighttime air, the Creators know I could use some right now," Merrill pointed out only to have the door to the top deck open up, casting a column of moonlight into the dark hold. The elves sensitive ears could pick up the whispering of two slavers as they descended the stairs.

"Ok, let's just find her, get this over with, and get back to our posts, I don't want to think of what the boss would do to us if we got caught," said a concerned voice.

"Will you shut up Eddie, I want to have some fun," said a sly second.

The hair on the back of Merrill's neck stood on end when the two slavers reached the bottom of the stairs; it was those two slavers that Hector had warned her about, only the giant slaver wasn't here to protect her this time.

One of the slavers held a lantern in their hands as the second walked back up to quickly close the door upstairs, leaving the lantern the sole source of light in the otherwise pitch-black hold.

"Just keep your head down and they might miss you," Fenris commanded in a quiet voice as the slaver with the lantern walked to one end of the cargo hold and started travelling down the line, inspecting the elves faces.

Merrill held her head down staring at the wooden floor; the light from the lantern getting closer and closer, until she saw the man's boots stop right in front of her.

"Hey, look up," the voice said in a neutral tone, Merrill just kept looking at her feet.

"Hey, you awake?" the man's boot then nudged her leg, "I said look up, I want to see your face."

When Merrill still didn't responded the slaver then slapped her on the head, "I said look up!"

At that Merrill finally raised her head up to reveal her face in the lantern's light. Fenris was taken aback at the amount of fear apparent on her face, _She's a powerful mage yet she's able to feel fear? _Fenris thought as he continued to watch.

"Ahhhh, there's my princess," the slaver hissed like a snake.

"Please, you wouldn't do such a thing in front of a small boy? Would you?" Merrill said as she gestured to the small boy next to her.

"He'll learn someday, might as well be tonight," the slaver without the lantern, now next to the other, said off-handedly.

"Please don't-

At that moment a knife materialized in the slaver's hand and held it up against Merrill's cheek, the tip pushing into her skin but not yet cutting it.

"Now listen up princess, unless you want something even less pleasant put inside you, you'd better keep quiet," the slaver said venomously.

_This is going to sting, _Merrill thought as she quickly shifted her head so the knife sliced a long thin cut across her cheek, blood seeping from the wound.

"What the fuck is wrong with you," the slaver that held the knife said before Merrill looked him straight in the eye; red energy creeping out of her eyes and into his as he stood there hypnotized.

"Ah… Wendell, you alright?" the other slaver asked cautiously as he placed a hand on the shoulder of the slaver apparently named Wendell.

"Kill him,"

"Kill him," Merrill and Wendell said at the exact same time, the latter in a dull monotone, before Wendell reversed the knife in his hand and slashed Eddie's throat, causing him to collapse, choking on his own blood.

"Free me,"

"Free me," the two said at the same time again as Wendell reached for his belt and removed the key to the locks. Once he had unlocked Merrill's chains, he used the knife to cut away her binds and actually helped her to stand.

"Give me the keys and knife,"

"Give me the keys and knife," the two said as Merrill held out her hand and Wendell obediently complied.

"Now go above deck and jump overboard,"

"Now go above deck and Jump overboard," he then turned around and stalked away to fulfill this task as Merrill went to work freeing the other elves starting with Fenris.

"Care to explain to me what just happened?" Fenris asked as he rubbed his wrists, which were raw from hours of constant resisting and struggling.

"Blood thrall, q powerful form of blood magic, it can only be used in Setheneran, a place where the veil is extremely thin for such little blood," Merrill spoke while unlocking the other slaves.

"Why is the veil thin on this river?" Fenris asked as he began untying an old woman's ankle binds.

"It's the ship, apparently not many slaves survive it," she then unlocked the small boy, who began to wiggle away in fright from Merrill.

"It's ok Da'len," Merrill tried to reassure the boy but he only stayed still long enough for Merrill to untie him, then he bolted to the other end of the room.

"The child is right to fear you," Fenris pointed out as he finished untying the last of the would-be-slaves.

Merrill reached her hand up to her cheek and looked at the blood, then stood up in a confident manner to try and hide the sadness inside as she said, "Come on, we have a boat to take over.

V

Hawke stared at the silverwood ring in his hands again as the group made their way into town; he had planned on giving it to Merrill as a gift the same day that they had discovered that the elves were missing.

He had lost everyone he loved or cared about, losing his father to a nasty cold that had quickly turned into pneumonia and had killed him, then he had lost Carver to that ogre, then Bethany to the demons and templars, and finally his mother to that accursed mage. And now Merrill and Fenris had been captured and he had every intention of not losing one more person he cared for again.

Hawke squeezed the ring in the palm of his hand as he was dragged out of his reverie by Anders' and Varric's conversation.

"You sure they would have come to such a backwater town as this?" the mage freedom-fighter asked as he narrowly dodged a bucket full of waste dumped by a woman from the second floor balcony of her house.

"Ah and where would you imagine the slavers would go to cross the Minanter this far east of the Imperial Highway, Blondie?" Varric asked as he surveyed the area for a tavern, likely to either ask about the local gossip or create his own.

"Tantervale maybe?"

With that Varric snorted like a pig as he bellowed, "Tantervale! Blondie, you must truly be the most clueless person I've ever met if you think slavers would go through Tantervale with all the strict anti-slave laws they have there."

"Perhaps we should ask the townsfolk if they have seen any slavers with elves pass by through here," Sebastian suggested.

"Finally, some sense coming out of that mouth of yours," Hawke replied sarcastically before he turned a corner and found the town's local tavern.

The moment Hawke opened the doors to the tavern he was hit by the near overwhelming stench of alcohol; but since he and his companions spent most of their time in the Hanged Man it didn't faze him. He just trudged along to the opposite side of the room to the bar where the bartender was polishing a glass.

The group all took their seats at the bar where Hawke went right down to business.

"We're looking for some slavers that might have passed through here,"

As Hawke talked to the bartender Isabela noticed that a table full of what appeared to be six mercenaries all put their mugs down.

The bartender started to sweat as he shakily replied to Hawke that he had not seen any slavers and that they should leave immediately.

"Listen you, they have my friends, and I will find them, so you'd better tell me-

At that moment Isabela put a hand on Hawke's shoulder to get his attention, "I really think we should leave Hawke," She then tilted her head in the mercenaries' direction.

"Fine, we'll leave," Hawke said, then stood up and turned to walk out of the tavern with his party behind him.

The moment Hawke walked outside the tavern he was instantly grabbed by the wrist and spun around to come face to chest with an extremely large man with a long grey beard that wielded a large hammer strapped to his back. The large man then squeezed Hawke's wrist with incredible strength as he said, "Heard you fellows have been looking for some slavers, well, you've found 'em!"

With that Hawke's allies all brought out their respective weapons and pointed them at the man with muscles large enough to put the Arishok to shame.

The man did not even finch at the weapons when he calmly said, "Before you decide to do anything stupid, you might want to look around you."

With that about a dozen other slavers seemed to appear out of nowhere, all with weapons drawn and pointed at the small group.

"Names Hector, and you must be those friends that the female was so certain were coming to rescue her and the grumpy one,"

"Sounds like Merrill and Fenris alright," Isabela commented.

"Where are they you bastard!" Hawke yelled; his face red with pain and anger as he tried to pry Hector's hand off of his wrist, which only got the large slaver to squeeze even tighter, forcing Hawke on his knees.

"Probably halfway to Nevarra by now,"

"I swear if Merrill is harmed in any way!" Hawke started to threaten; only to have his wrist squeezed yet again. He felt like his wrist was going to break.

"Oh please, I've practically protected her from Wendell and Eddie since day one, but seeing as I'm not there now, I'd say their probably having some fun as we speak," With that Hawke released a guttural roar as he removed his razor sharp knife from his boot and imbedded it into Hectors thigh.

All hell broke loose, with Anders casting a maelstrom spell to summon fireballs raining down, as Sebastian and Varric released arrow after arrow onto the slavers, while Isabela sliced them apart with her dual daggers. Hawke quickly pulled up his shield to bloke a downward hammer swing, the impact causing the metal shield to vibrate with great force.

Hawke then unsheathed his sword and took a swing at Hector only to have the brute leap backwards to avoid the attack. Hawke then noticed that Hector winced when he landed on his bad leg where he had stabbed him.

Garrett then charged forward, quickly leaned down and hacked at Hector's lower leg, making another cut on his already injured leg. The large slaver bellowed in pain and rage as he raised his hammer above his head ready to smash Hawke to as pulp; and probably would have too if an arrow hadn't imbedded itself in hector's shoulder, causing the giant to drop the hammer behind him.

Not wasting a second, Hawke straightened himself and sliced the man's head off with one quick swing.

Hawke looked back at his companions in time to see Isabela backstab the final slaver; the whole battle had only lasted about half a minute.

"What now?" Anders asked as he placed his staff onto his back.

"You heard what that slaver said, we need to get to Nevarra," Hawke pointed out as he pulled out a piece of cloth and started whipping the blood off his sword.

"Hawke, they have a pretty good head start," Varric pointed out.

"Then we double time it!" Hawke yelled at the others before he turned around and trudged on, not bothering to see if his companions were following him or not.

"Is it just me? Or does Hawke have a stick stuck up his ass? And not in the good way" Isabela commented as she was the first one to start following Hawke.

Varric and Anders exchanged looks, shrugged simultaneously, than followed suit. Sebastian gave a quick prayer to the Maker hoping that Hawke wouldn't lose his way, literally and metaphorically, and then ran up to catch up with the rest of the group.

V

Fenris ducked to avoid an incoming sword swing then delivered a swift uppercut, phased through the slaver's chest and ripped out the poor bastard's heart with one fluid motion.

The elves had all agreed that one swift revolt was what they needed in order to overtake the ship, and had begun immediately, taking the slavers by surprise.

Fenris then grinned maliciously as he found the slaver with the hanged elf tattoo. He then picked up the sword from the previously killed slaver and charged the cruel slave trader.

The tattooed elf swung at the tattooed slaver only to be blocked by his opponents own sword.

Once the slaver recognized Fenris he smiled as he said, "I'm going to enjoy killing you knife-ear."

"Took the words out of my mouth" Fenris replied as took a step back to release himself from the slaver, causing the human's momentum to force him to stumble as Fenris quickly rebounded and took a swing at him but he quickly parried the blow.

Fenris then backed up for another swing only to have the slaver knock the sword to the side with his own, then proceeded to head-butt Fenris in the head with his armored helmet, staggering the elf.

The tattooed slaver then immediately took another swing at Fenris' sword, knocking it out of his hands and leaving him defenseless. The slaver then did an outward thrust with his weapon in an attempt to skewer the elf, and would have succeeded if Fenris hadn't put all his concentration into making his abdomen become ethereal so the blade phased right through him.

The slaver, not having known about Fenris' phasing abilities, jumped back in shock. Fenris quickly took the advantage and grabbed the stunned slaver by the wrist and delivered a swift blow to the man's forearm, making him drop the sword. Fenris then knocked his opponent's legs out from underneath him, causing the criminal to fall forward onto Fenris' ethereal fist. Phasing through the man's chest, Fenris swiftly ended the slaver's wretched life with a simple squeeze around his heart.

Fenris then tossed the limp body aside as he ran over to one of the trapdoors by the side of the ship and opened it to find what he was looking for, Dwarven black-powder.

"Merrill!" Fenris yelled from across the deck to the Dalish elf that was busy casting spells at the slavers from a distance.

"I'm a little busy Fenris!" she yelled back as she froze a slaver solid.

"I need you to cast a fire spell into this trapdoor!"

"Fine," Merrill yelled back as she ran over and quickly made a small cut on the palm of her hand to draw power from her blood. Fire erupting from her hand, she then cast the flames down into the trapdoor.

The next thing Merrill knew she was picked up and thrown overboard. She only had enough time to quickly inhale before she crashed into the cold murky river water.

She quickly swam upwards and resurfaced her head long enough to see Fenris take a drive from the deck before half the ship exploded in a brilliant column of smoke and fire, before she quickly submerged again to avoid the fire that ran across the surface of the water.

Once she finally resurfaced Merrill found herself surrounded by burning debris from the ship, the fire bright enough to make her mistaken it for daytime despite it being in the middle of the night.

She glanced over to the ship to find about a third of it completely missing, another third on fire, and the entirety of the vessel slowly sinking.

The sudden sound of something breaking the water's surface coupled with the deep intake of air made Merrill glance over to her right to find Fenris' snow-white hair a few feet away from her.

"Fenris! Thank the Creators, I thought I lost you!" Merrill yelled in relief.

"Follow the glow of my markings!" Fenris replied, not caring about Merrill's concern. He then took a deep inhale of breath before he quickly submerged.

Merrill wasted no time in following his orders and dove as well. At first she couldn't see anything through the murky depths; but then she saw a simmering blue light and quickly followed it.

The two eventually made it to the shore. Merrill clutching her shivering self as her teeth chattered against the cold night breeze after having swum halfway across the width of the Minanter.

Glancing back to the ship, Merrill could make out figures jumping overboard, most of them aflame.

"You had me kill them," Merrill said in what was little more than a whisper.

"What?" Fenris asked, not having heard her.

"You made me kill them, the slavers and the other elves," Merrill explained, completely shocked with what she had been ordered to do.

"It was necessary in order for us to escape without any real pursuit on their part," Fenris reasoned.

"There were Da'lens on that ship you elvhen'alas!" Merrill than spun around to throw a punch only to have Fenris expertly grab her wrist with his hand.

"Heartless flat-ear!" she bellowed as she tried again with her other fist, only to have the same outcome.

"There were da'lens on that ship, there were da'lens on that ship!" she screamed as she tried to remove herself from his grasp, only to fall on her knees sobbing.

Fenris just stood there impassively as Merrill cried at his feet. He knew that he had to make the hard decisions if they were to get back to Kirkwall; he also knew that Merrill would only understand with time.

"We have to make hard decisions if we are to get back to Kirkwall with Hawke and the others," he tried to explain, but at the mentioning of Hawke's name she only cried anew; for she feared of what Hawke would think if he found out that Merrill had just been tricked into murdering a bunch of innocent elves.

Fenris noticed that his arms started shivering from the contact with Merrill's wrist and let go before he said, "We have to get moving."

Merrill then glanced up at him with eyes filled with equal parts pain, hatred, and disgust as she replied quietly, "Fine, but we're going to have a long talk you elvhen'alas."

V

Wendell had no idea what had happened, one second he had been holding a knife to the pretty Dalish, the next, he was drowning in the Minanter River.

And here he was, running along the shore of the river trying to get to the burning ship. He soon found his fellow slavers swimming up to the shore.

"Hay! Over here!" Wendell yelled to the others only to have one of them ask where the hell he had been.

"I fell overboard, what the heck happened to the ship?"

"Those two knife-ears with the glowing tattoos and magic abilities blew up the ship; that's what happened!" one of the slavers replied.

"And they're going to pay dearly for that," said deep gravelly voice from behind them.

Wendell turned around to find his boss standing right behind him.

The man stood at 6'5, towering over the rest of them. He had a strong yet lean build and there were three jagged scars running across his face and another one along the front of his throat which explained his warped voice. Both of his earlobes were jagged at the end, as though an animal had at some point bitten the ends off. One of the scars on his face ran through his left eye, leaving it milky white in color, while his one good eye spoke of a calm and cold personality devoid of moral conviction.

Without another word, he turned and looked at the burning ship, his fists clenching.

_**Author's note:**_

**So now that the enemy has a face, what do you think?**

**Also I would greatly appreciate if the review explained why you guys and gals like my story, not just a 'yay I love it, keep going'. It doesn't help me if I don't know what it is that you guys like about it. **

_**Elven translations:**_

**Da'len = little child**

**Elvhen'alas = dirt elf, a common insult between elves, basically the equivalent of the human insult 'you asshole'.**


	4. Harrowing Confessions

**I would very much like to apologize for not updating in so long, I was suffering from a massive writer's block that had me handicapped for a whole agonizingly long month, but I managed to murder the offending adversary, chopped him into many tiny pieces, burn said pieces, buried the ashes sixty feet under, and spat on its grave.**

**So hopefully it won't come back to haunt me at a later date.**

**Now that I got the more violent part of the author's note out of the way, I would like to thank each and every one of you people who either reviewed, favored, story-alerted, or some combination of the three for inspiring me to not give up despite the writer's block, I would never had survived that ordeal without your reviews reminding me that somebody out there actually likes the weird stuff that comes out of my head.**

**And a very special thanks to my beta and friend on this site, Hatsepsut. I never would have even begun to type fanfiction if it weren't for your own stories inspiring me to remember my password.**

**Now enough of all the thanks and stuff, let's get to what you clicked on that link for.**

**Bioware owns dragon age and all related characters, I don't, if I had then Fenris and Merrill would be straight, not Bi, and Anders would have been a million times less whiney and annoying.**

**Warning: Drama, Anders perspective, and abnormally happy Merchants**

Chapter 4

Merrill ran like the Dread Wolf was chasing her; in a sense he was. She ran until her feet were sore and her bones ached, but she willed herself forward, not daring to think of what might happen if they got caught.

She thought about the slaves, and hoped that there were at least some that survived and got away; but she knew that was unlikely.

At that she glared at Fenris who was running ahead of her. In the six years she's known him he's called her a filthy blood mage, a monster, a Maleficar, a witch, a magister-in-training. Sure, she was the one that had casted the spell, but he was the one that had ordered it, knowing full well that she wouldn't think ahead in the heat of battle.

She soon heard the sound of shouting men behind them, likely the slavers. So she double timed it; adrenaline pumping through her veins.

Merrill ran so fast that she didn't have time to register the ground beneath her feet. Her whole body was chilled to the bone by the nighttime air that she raced through after having been drenched from the swim across the Minanter River; but she dared not stop.

In fact, she ran so fast that she didn't notice the dead hollowed out log that Fenris had expertly leapt over and tripped, landing hard on the forest floor.

Fenris quickly stopped when he heard the sound of light slapping noises that informed him that Merrill was keeping up being replaced with a squeaky noise like that of a mouse, then a hard thud, quickly followed by the sound of Merrill gasping out in pain. The warrior turned around to find the Dalish on the ground clutching her right ankle in pain, her face scrunched up in agony.

"I think I twisted my ankle," Merrill admitted, getting a frustrated growled from Fenris, _for an elf that grew up in the forest almost the entirety of her life, she has a nasty habit of being a klutz at the most inconvenient of times, _the male elf thought begrudgingly.

The sound of shouting increased significantly as the slavers neared their location; and from the looks of things Merrill was in no position to continue running.

The thought of leaving Merrill behind flashed promisingly through his mind; she could even slow the slavers down a bit if she fought back. But he quickly decided against that as Hawke and the others wouldn't help him with Danarius if they found out that he left the blood mage as bait for the slavers.

Resentfully, he ran over and roughly grabbed Merrill by the arms, only to have the young elf struggle in protest.

"Let go of me you Dread Wolf worshiper!" Merrill screamed as she managed to yank free one of her arms, only to have the ex-slave grab the arm again.

"Just be quiet," Fenris hissed into her ear as he dragged her to the fallen log that Merrill had tripped over earlier; he then pushed her into the dead and hollow tree and climbed in with her.

The log was just wide enough for the two lithe elves to squeeze into; with Fenris on top of Merrill who was trying to shove him off until the rapid sound of heavy footsteps all around them was heard.

The elves stayed perfectly still as the slavers all ran past the log without noticing them. Only once the footsteps started to die down did Fenris turn his head to have a peak through the small hole in the log to see if they had all ran past.

It was then that a boot stepped in front of the hole out of nowhere, blocking out his view; nearly causing the normally calm elf to gasp out in shock from not expecting the leg. But he managed to catch himself before he could be heard.

The boot began to walk away from the log, giving Fenris a chance to get a better look at the slaver.

Dimly illuminated by the gentle moonlight was a figure that made Hector appear average in stature, standing at nearly six and a half feet tall, casting a foreboding shadow in the pale glow of the moon. His long black hair streaked down his back from the bottom of his wide brimmed hat to about halfway down his back.

So far the figure seemed unaware of the two elves hiding place, as he simply reached into his large coat and pulled out a smoking pipe, placed a small pinch of tobacco from a pouch on his belt into the end of the pipe and lit it with a match.

Fenris didn't take his eyes off of the man as he felt Merrill raise her head to get a look at what he was looking at out of curiosity.

Merrill's eyes widened in horror as she noticed the two bastard swords on the tall man's back, causing her to wonder if he could wield both at the same time or not, then quickly decided that that was something she really didn't want to find out about.

Eventually the man started to walk away. Even though he was there for only a few minutes, it felt like an eternity for the elves.

Fenris and Merrill laid there long after the man had escaped their sight; neither willing to risk getting caught while the slavers continued to search for them.

V

Merrill awoke the next morning to the sensation of a crushing weight atop her. Upon opening her eyes she realized that she and Fenris had both fallen asleep inside the log.

The former slave was still on top of her like he was last night. At first she just stared at his sleeping form, but then memories of last night flashed through her mind as she recalled what he had forced her to do to the other slaves, rage beginning to fill up inside her.

The dalish mage began to shake Fenris awake to no avail; in fact, he subconsciously started to squeeze a little tighter around her, causing her to panic inside; the possibility of him waking up to find her in his arms and suddenly killing her in a blind rage all too likely in her mind.

The confined space, and the crushing weight atop her was making her feel claustrophobic, terrified, and oddly, warm despite the fact that it was early morning in mid-autumn. She should be freezing, but it was getting pretty warm in the log, that part she couldn't figure out.

Merrill started to try and squirm her way out from under Fenris hoping not to wake him; though that hope was shattered as she had hardly moved two inches until the sleeping elf atop her started to stir.

"Ughh… what?" Fenris said drowsily as he slowly opened his eyes halfway.

"Can you get off please," Merrill said sternly, trying to contain her anger towards him for tricking her into killing a couple dozen of innocent elves.

Once Fenris' eyes focused on Merrill's face they quickly widened in the sudden realization of his current situation atop of her and jerked back to get away from her, only to hit his head on the log.

Despite the fact that she was pissed she couldn't help but smirk as Fenris rubbed the back of his head.

Once Fenris was done rubbing his head he got himself out of the log as quickly as elvenly possible, Merrill following soon after.

The moment Merrill tried to stand she'd quickly stumbled after putting pressure on her injured ankle; and would have hit the ground had she not managed to catch herself on the log.

Merrill glanced up to see Fenris calmly walking away without a word.

"So you're just going to leave me here; all alone in the middle of the woods with a twisted ankle!" She bellowed after the retreating elf.

At that Fenris stopped in his tracks, but refused to turn and look at her as he said, "I'm going to go find something to help you walk, unless you plan on crawling all the way back to Kirkwall."

"I'm completely capable of walking!" Merrill yelled as she stood up to try again, only to fall flat on her face after the first step.

"Yea, 'completely'," Came the sarcastic response from Fenris as he continued on, leaving a fuming Merrill who seemed pretty busy cursing at the dirt.

V

After about ten minutes of searching, Fenris had managed to find a promisingly long stick that was relatively sturdy with a length that Fenris judged to just about reach Merrill's shoulder in height and forked off at the end, making a perfect place to place her armpit over as she walked.

Confident that he had succeeded in his task, Fenris began his trek back to the log where he had left Merrill.

At the thought of the young Dalish Fenris' neutral expression turned into a scowl; the idea of having to put up with the naive blood mage for so long a journey was something he wasn't exactly looking forward to.

Once Fenris made it back to the log he was surprised to find Merrill to be nowhere in sight. At first the thought of being rid of the young elf gave a sense of relief to the ex-slave, only to remember that his companions might blame him for losing Merrill and might not help him with his former-master.

"Merrill!" Fenris bellowed as he cupped his fingers to try and project his voice farther.

V

Merrill had managed to reach a small stream in the woods not too far from the log despite her twisted ankle. Given that the area was out of sight from the log she knew Fenris wouldn't see her when he returned, and right now she just needed to be alone.

She closed her eyes to the calm peace that the gentle sound of the creek provided. She thought about the elves on the ship, about the little Da'len that was deathly terrified of her after finding out that she was a blood mage. Upon that thought Merrill opened her eyes to look in the calm water to see her reflection in the liquid, the cut on her cheek that she had used on that perverted slaver down in the ship's hold had healed, and was now a thin line of dried blood across her cheek with a few streaks traveling down from the cut to her jaw line from dripping blood.

The young elf then raised her left hand in front of her face to look at the cut she used to power that fire spell Fenris convinced her to cast on the dwarven black powder that had killed all the slaves.

Unlike most blood mages; Merrill tried to use it to help benefit her people, using it only on the Eluvian to repair it. Last night was the first time she had ever used it on another life; making her feel unclean.

Tears started to stream down her face as she thought for the first time that maybe she was in fact a monster just like Fenris claimed, that all she was capable of was destruction of everything around her.

Merrill then began to dip her injured hand under the water to clean the wound. Once she was done with the hand she had started to unwrap her scarf from around her neck and dipped the end in the water, after wringing it out of the excess water she had started using it to wipe her cheek, all in a desperate attempt to feel like she was washing away the filth that her blood magic had caused.

She didn't feel much better, but better none the less.

"Merrill!" came the sound of Fenris' voice from somewhere behind her. At first Merrill didn't respond as she looked at her reflection in the water to make sure she got all the blood off of her cheek, the visage that stared back at her devoid of the youthful energy that normally manifested on her face, replaced by eyes that were dimmed with misery, her mouth downturned as her shoulders hung loosely from their sockets with guilt.

It wasn't long after that Fenris' reflection appeared behind her own, his expression as neutral as ever.

"How could you choose to do such a thing?" Merrill asked miserably, not taking her eyes from her own reflection.

"The choice had to be made," Fenris replied impassively.

"Yea and why is that exactly? Because you want to get back to Kirkwall that badly or because you want to get as far away from Danarius as possible?" Merrill asked venomously.

"You know NOTHING of what he's like!" Fenris spat violently, causing Merrill to slam her fist at Fenris' reflection in the water before she turned around and began to stand only to fall again after putting pressure on her ankle.

"Those were innocent men women and children that didn't deserve to pay for your freedom with their lives!" she pointed out as she started to try and stand up again, only to have Fenris pick her up by the biceps, spun her around and pin her to a tree.

"I did them a favor you idiot!" he practically screamed into her face, his foul breath causing discomfort to Merrill's nose and her face to warm up.

"How is killing them a favor exactly!" Merrill inquired sternly, matching Fenris' intense anger filled gaze.

At that Fenris quickly jerked Merrill's whole body to have her head smash into the tree trunk before he explained in a disturbingly calm tone, "You have no idea what it means to be a slave, to have the state of your current wellbeing being solely dependent on a cruel man whether you liked it or not. You have no idea what the ritual was like, to feel incomprehensible pain that forced you into a world of so much agony that time is not a factor, were you wished with all your might that you would die from the pain, forget passing out."

At that Fenris' began to laugh like a mentally disturbed individual before he pointed out, "By the void, Danarius had to chain me up for six months straight just so I wouldn't kill myself!"

At that Fenris' expression turned to that of shock, he had never told anyone of the six months after the ritual, he hadn't even trusted Hawke it was so personal, and it had just been revealed to the last person he would ever think of admitting it to.

Merrill's expression was just as horrified as his was shocked. She opened and closed her mouth several times as though to say something, but the words wouldn't come.

After about a minute of a long awkward silence, Fenris simply let go of Merrill's arms, who then leaned on the tree to keep her ankle off the ground.

Without another word the tattooed warrior calmly walked over to the stick that he dropped when he grabbed Merrill and offered it to the injured elf; who then, though hesitantly, reached out and grabbed the stick and placed it under her arm. After a few test steps, she started to get confident with the makeshift crutch and began to follow Fenris in silence as they made their way back to Kirkwall.

V

Anders was thankful that they had met Ghurm's wagon that was bound for Nevarra; Ghurm himself was a respected Dwarven merchant that plied his trade along the Minanter River.

The dwarf was kind and courteous towards the group, more than happy to give them transportation to the city, for free no less. Though Anders did notice that the merchant wouldn't stop sneaking glances at Varric in an overly friendly way that Anders found a bit disturbing, and only to make things worse, Isabela had to comment that the merchant was going to be 'Friend Fiction gold'.

Anders had to use every ounce of willpower he possessed to not throw up.

The Apostate looked around at the group of misfits he'd come to call friends, or at least allies, for the past six years. Varric was polishing Bianca with his handkerchief while trying his best to ignore Ghurm's constant attempts at conversation, Sebastian had his eyes closed in what appeared to be prayer, while Isabela was perusing Ghurm's wares, specifically the large assortments of hats, one of which she was currently wearing, it had to be the most ridiculous hat that he'd ever seen, it was wide rimmed by about a foot and a half, was bright purple and with a bizarre feather sticking out of the top that resembled a rainbow.

It was then that Anders glanced over at Hawke, their fearless leader staring out in the middle distance with his amber, almost golden, eyes, his expression almost as impossible to read as Fenris'.

"_Oh please, I've practically protected her from Wendell and Eddie since day one, but seeing as I'm not there now, I'd say their probably having some fun as we speak," _Those words repeated themselves in Hawke's head over and over again, each time the sentence finished he grew more and more enraged at the thought that something bad was happening to Merrill.

"Hawke you alright?" Hawke almost didn't hear Anders he was so lost in thought, but he eventually turned his head towards the mage.

"No," was all that escaped Hawke's lips before he turned back to his staring into space.

"You're worried about what that slaver said about Merrill," Anders asked in a way that said it really wasn't a question.

At that Hawke simply reached into his pouch and pulled out the Silverwood ring and held it up for Anders to see as he admitted his greatest secret, "I'm in love with her,"

Anders nodded his head in understanding, Hawke's protective attitude towards Merrill over the years being finally explained.

It was then that Anders figured it was as good a time as any to ask the question that was eating at him, "You know Fenris and Merrill don't get along very well, what would you do if he killed her out of rage?"

At that Garret Hawke slowly turned his head towards Anders direction, his face filled with anger as he said, "Fenris is a good friend of mine, but if ANYONE prevents me from ever being with Merrill; and I will hunt them as far as the ends of the fade, and as long as the end of eternity, and I. Will. Kill. Them!"

_**Author's note:**_

**I'd say that should add a new dimension to the stories plot.**


	5. At Peace

**Man I'm moving fast.**

**Warning: Torture, Violence, and Fenris serving the role as healer, and the whole chapter being unbeta-ed.**

**Chapter 5**

He yanked and pulled on the numerous chains that had him bound to the chair and walls of the tiny dungeon room that he resided in, the simple act purely out of instinct than anything else; to pull on the chains, free himself from this nightmare and put an end to all of it.

After several more hours of mindless tugging he finally stopped to stare at the large iron door across the room from where he sat.

Complex thought was impossible for him, for the residual pain from the ritual from three months ago would cause the stabbing pain that constantly occupied his head to intensify.

Pain, it was the only thing he knew, the only thing he remembers, and as far as he was concerned, the only thing he will ever experience.

He was little more than a frightened, weak, starving, and caged animal.

The sound of footsteps reached his pointed and highly tuned ears, the quiet sound being painful to hear; causing a strange mix of emotions flowing through his aching brain, anticipation and dread chief among them. Anticipation because it would most likely mean that Master was coming, and the mere presence of another life form helped ease the condition of his loneliness and growing insanity; and dread because of what Master will most likely do to him.

Once the sound of Footsteps grow loud enough that the chained individual assumed that the owner of the feet was just outside the door, it opened to reveal a tall, gaunt, and very old man with grey hair and mangled skin.

"Ahh, there's my pet, and how are we feeling today?" said the tall figure, his voice sickeningly smooth and calm, like his voice had a mystic quality about it. The 'pet' listened intently to the voice, absorbed it, relished it, worshiped it as it was the first voice he's heard in two weeks, for the others who force-feed him every other day wouldn't speak.

"You look at me when I speak to you," said Master, so slowly, the chained one in the room raised his head and eyes to look at the master's, his own eyes filled to the brim with terror as the master held a smirk upon his visage.

"Why are you sad child, I have given you everything and yet you seem too intent on taking your own life," it was then that the master had moved a little closer to his 'pet', "you just need to release your pain, I can help you with that,"

The 'pet' had began to panic as the master gently reached out one hand as he grazed his ghastly fingertip along one of the angry blue lines that marred his chin in the most gently teasing way possible. The pain so all consuming that the pet couldn't help but howler at the top of his lungs, the sound so ear-shattering that he thought the very walls would crumble from the sound waves.

The master smirked maliciously at his 'pet's' pain as he calmly said, "yes Little Wolf, just like that,"

V

Fenris awoke with a start, drenched in sweat while quickly bringing his hands to his chin to remove fingers that weren't there. Once he realized this he lowered his hands onto his lap but continued to breathe heavy and erratically as he looked at his surroundings.

He was still in the makeshift camp that he and Merrill had made earlier before turning in for the night. The tattooed elf looked up to stare at the moon and constellations that painted the nighttime sky with a beautiful display, perfect and untouchable, free and unmarked by time.

He eventually began to relax enough to lay back and admire the stars. He remembers that Isabela had told him that pirates used the constellations to find their way at night, he soon found himself searching for the Shartan constellation; one that was said to bring good luck to escaped slaves on the nights it is visible.

"Pretty aren't they?" Fenris nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of Merrill's voice to his left, he turned his head to find the dalish laying down five feet away from him, staring at the sky, her left leg arched up to form a triangle with the ground while her right leg was laid across the other, she also had one arm placed lazily across her stomach and her other hand placed behind her head, the whole position was one that a completely worry free person would assume, but her frown suggested that she was anything but worry free right now.

"How long have you been awake?" Fenris inquired.

Merrill's shoulders shrugged but she didn't take her eyes from the sky when she said, "You had a nightmare didn't you?" it wasn't a question so much as a statement.

"Long enough then I take it," Fenris replied, the female elf simply shrugged again, her lazy position perfectly countered by the frown and disinterested eyes that stared at the stars.

Fenris then retook his position as he continued to search for the constellation, a long peaceful silence fell upon the campground until Merrill said out of the blue, "I can never forgive you for what you made me do,"

"I wouldn't expect you to," Fenris replied.

"It's just… I can't believe… how can you live with such guilt?" Fenris glanced over to see that Merrill was now looking directly at him, her eyes pleading for an answer.

"I tell myself that it was a mercy," Fenris explained, only now realizing just how hollow those words sounded, regardless of his opinion that it was true.

"That might work for you Fenris… but…" it was then that Fenris realized that Merrill wasn't asking how **he** dealt with the guilt, but seeking advice about how **she** should deal with it.

Fenris turned his head towards the stars again, at a complete loss as to what to say. He soon realized that he was actually caring about how Merrill felt, which completely confused him, he had never cared about what Merrill felt before so what was different this time?

"What does the Dalish say happens to us after we die?" Fenris chose the best possible response he could think of.

"We go beyond the veil to be guided by Falon'din, god of death and fortune," Merrill said quickly without need for thought, a testament to her extended knowledge of elven history.

Merrill waited for a response from Fenris, expecting him to ask some obvious question given the fact that he is a believer of the Maker, and just when she thought that he didn't listen he ask in what was little more than a whisper, "Is he a kind god?"

"What?" Merrill asked, not quite hearing him.

"Is he a kind god?" Fenris repeated, a little louder this time.

"Yes, he is," Merrill replied, she didn't mention that he abandons those who had lived a life of evil since she figured it would ruin the mood.

"Then they are at peace," Fenris stated before he turned on his side, his back towards the other elf.

Merrill watched him for a little while; then she turned her head back towards the sky to watch the stars, and as the nighttime beauty lolled to sleep she managed to find the constellation she was looking for: Shartan, said to bring good luck to escaped slaves.

Having found the lucky omen, Merrill allowed her mind to enter the fade with a smile.

V

"Varric can I speak with you?"

"For the millionth time Ghurm, I'm not ga-" the dwarf stopped when he turned around to find Anders, not Ghurm, standing behind him.

"Great," Anders said as he narrowed his eyes and smiled that smirk in that way that even the king of Ferelden would find annoying, "Now excuse me while I go throw up,"

"Sorry, that merchant is just really getting on Bianca's nerves," the beardless dwarf explained.

"What, is she jealous?"

"Ha ha, Bianca forgot how to laugh," Varric mocked, then his tone turned serious as he said, "now spit it out Blonde; I seriously doubt you came over here to tease me about my not-so-subtle admirer."

"It's about Hawke," Anders said in a slightly nervous tone, suggestion that it would be best that it remained between the two.

At that Varric pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, "Look Blonde, I hate to break it to you, but Hawke doesn't swing that way,"

An awkward silence fell between the two for a few seconds as Anders processed Varric's words, only to have his face twist in disgust, "What!"

At that Varric raised an eyebrow as he asked, "So you're not here for dating advice from the master?"

"NO!" Anders replied vehemently, "I want to discuss about Hawke's feelings for Merrill,"

"Oh… OH, that would make wonderful friend-fiction, I got to go tell Isabela," Varric exclaimed as he turned around to head towards the Pirate who was busy discussing hat prices with the merchant the best way she knew how, hopelessly flirting, and failing, with the gay dwarf.

"No, no, I mean that Hawke said he would kill Fenris if he harms Merrill in anyway," Anders said quickly so Varric would take him seriously.

Anders praised the maker as Varric turned around with a serious expression on his usually carefree face, "Two things Blonde, one, Hawke and Fenris are best friends, and two, why would you care if Hawke killed Broody, I thought you hated him."

"First off, Hawke said that he is head over heels in love with Merrill and doesn't care if he and Fenris are friends or not, the second is that I do hate him, I'm just worried about Hawke's mental stability if he's willing to kill a close friend for someone he cares about." Anders explained.

Varric's Face scrunched up in concentration as he thought of what to say, "We'll just have to keep an eye on him for now, okay,"

"Yea, and let's keep this between us," Varric nodded in understanding as he walked over to the campfire and Anders walked to a remote area to reread his manifesto in peace. The two were unaware that Sebastian had heard them from the shadows; he did another prayer and went to continue practicing his archery just beyond the clearing that the campsite resided in.

The ex-prince hoped that his prayer would be answered.

V

Merrill limped alongside Fenris as they exited the forest and found themselves atop a hill that held a great view of a large expanse of flatland that went for miles, the sparse trees that dotted the landscape loosely holding onto autumn colored leaves as the giant plants prepared for the coming winter.

"Look a town!" Merrill exclaimed with an excitement that Fenris hadn't heard come from her since they were captured, and though he would never admit it, the edges of his lips upturned by the most minuscule amount at the sound.

"Come on, let's go!" Merrill said cheerfully again as she started to limp her way down the hill only to have Fenris reach out and grab her by the shoulder.

"We can't just walk in, the slavers will most likely be hiding at the entrance," Fenris explained.

"Well we have to get to the town to get supplies if we are to ever return to Kirkwall, so what do we do?" Merrill inquired.

Fenris looked around the landscape again as he found a farm just outside the town's walls.

"We can steal from the farmer to get some clothing we can use to sneak in," Fenris pointed out.

"But those are hard working people that you plan on stealing from," Merrill pointed out.

Fenris rubbed his hand against his forehead and closed his eyes just like he normally does out of frustration; for Merrill's moral centre was going to be the death of him.

"Ahh… Fenris?" Merrill asked cautiously, as though embarrassed about something.

"What is it," Fenris asked as he opened his eyes to look at Merrill who for some reason was blushing.

"Can you please let go of my shoulder," Merrill politely asked as she pointed at her shoulder, Fenris' hand still clasped on it; he had apparently somehow forgotten to remove it after getting her attention.

He quickly removed his hand as he coughed uncomfortably before saying, "W-we should just go over and try to get in the town."

The two elves then began their descent down the hill, a longer process then Fenris would have preferred given Merrill's ankle; but they made it down none the less.

Once they headed towards the wheat farm the elves sensitive ears picked up the sound of shouting and hissing, the sound all too familiar to them, giant spiders.

Fenris ran ahead and turned down the side of the road to the front of the farmhouse to find four individuals fending off eight giant spiders, one of which was black in color and had a red design on its abdomen; showing that that one was poisonous.

"Fenris what is it?" Merrill asked as she limped as fast as she could to catch up, once turning the corner she gasped before saying, "We have to help them,"

"Correction, I will help them, you stay back and out of sight!" Fenris sternly replied in a way that said he wasn't going to argue about it; and before Merrill could respond he already started running at the spiders.

Along the way he reached down and grabbed a discarded harvesting scythe and swiftly did a downward swing, imbedding the curved blade into the top of the first spider's head. Fenris had then swiftly pulled his arms back with the scythe to split the spider's ugly head down the middle, killing it.

"Help us stranger!" one of the farmers had bellowed right before the poisonous spider pounced on him as it buried its poison tipped fangs into the man's forearm.

Fenris performed a horizontal swing to sever four of a different spider's legs. The creature hissing and flinching in pain before the tattooed warrior quickly ended its wretched life with a swift downward swing, he then proceeded to run towards the poisonous one.

At that moment two more spiders intercepted Fenris' path. With a menacing hiss one of the spiders pounced at the ex-slave, and would have landed on top of him to if a large root didn't erupt out of the ground and grab the spider and throw it across the front yard.

Then suddenly a ball of fire whizzed past Fenris to set the other spider aflame; Fenris didn't need to look back to know Merrill disobeyed his orders.

Fenris finally reached the farmer and the poisonous spider and swiftly used the scythe to sever the spider's fangs; the creature retreated with its forelegs raised.

Once the monster was far enough it pounced at Fenris, who expertly swung the scythe upwards into the spider's exposed belly, the blade piercing through the creature's body. Then, with all his strength, Fenris used the spider's momentum to heave the foul arachnid up and over his body essentially throwing the beast ten feet away from where he stood, the dead body hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

The rest of the spiders where fairly easy to finish off after that.

Once Fenris removed the scythe from the last spider he trudged angrily towards the limping elf that started to sweat at his gaze, despite Fenris being thirty feet away when the perspiration had started to condense on her forehead.

"I thought I ordered you to stay away from this fight!" Fenris bellowed, completely forgetting that Merrill's disobedience saved his life.

"I tend to notice that when I follow your orders people die!" Merrill yelled back in a tone to match Fenris'

"Will you two lovebirds stop arguing long enough to help my father with his arm!" yelled one of the younger farmers.

"We're not lovebirds!"

"We're not lovebirds!" the two elves yelled in unison as they turned around to help out the injured farmer.

The two walked and limped over to the older farmer who was holding his arm in agony.

"Let me see your arm," Fenris stated calm as the man slowly offered his limp to Fenris.

"Thank you so much, the both of you," said the man as Fenris inspected the wound.

"Don't thank us yet," Fenris said in that neutral tone he was known for. The arm looked bad, the entire forearm was black, and smelled of rotting flesh, the hand was so ghostly white that it made Merrill look like she had a tan.

"this isn't good," Fenris mumbled to himself before turning his attention to the other farmers, two of which were the injured farmer's son's as evident by the likeness in their appearance, and the third was an elf, most likely a servant.

"You" Fenris pointed to the elf, "I need you to run inside and grab any clean bandages you can find and a bowl of water.

He then pointed at one of the boys and ordered that he rip off a large piece of his clothing and wade it into a ball to put into his father's mouth, who reluctantly accepted the ball of clothing.

By then the elf returned with some bandages and a large bowl of cold water as Fenris told Merrill to use a fire spell to heat one of the boy's swords.

"Okay," Fenris said to the injured Farmer, "when I say now, you bit down as hard as you can on the wade of clothing, you understand,"

The Farmer nodded his understanding right before Fenris pulled out the scythe, holding it close by the blade as he said now and swiftly severed the farmers infected arm at the elbow, the man released a muffled scream in response as he clutched the remaining part of his limb.

Wasting no time Fenris asked for the burning hot sword and used the weapon to cauterize the wound, killing off any infection that Fenris might have missed when he severed the arm.

Fenris then dipped one of the cloths in the cold water and used it to help clean the wound as one of the brothers wrapped up the arm in bandages.

Once the arm was properly bandaged, Fenris and one of the boys helped carry the farmer, who had passed out from the pain, into the house and onto his bed to rest.

Fenris had then walked out of the room to let the man rest. Once he closed the door he turned around to find the elven servant leaning on the wall across the hallway.

"Thanks for the help back there, I don't know how but we will repay you, I promise," the elf offered.

Fenris was just about to speak when Merrill seemed to appear right next to him and quickly said out loud, "Oh that is very sweet of you, but we do this kind of thing all the time, no need for rewards-

Fenris clasped a hand over a shocked Merrill's mouth to quiet her as he hastily said, "Don't mind her, we could actually use some help with getting into the town,"

"Last I checked the town was open to travelers," the elf pointed out as he raised an eyebrow and folded his arms in front of his chest, clearly suspicious.

Fenris released a sigh, figuring there was no point in lying to the elf, "We both escaped slavers that have every intention of recapturing us, so we need de- OUCH!"

Fenris' hand jerked away from Merrill's mouth when she pinched him right on one of his lines of lyrium on his arm, causing a quick jolt of immense pain, almost like being stung by a bee twice on the same spot.

Fenris glanced at Merrill who gave a mischievous grin before limping away, causing Fenris to growl.

"Anyway, we need a disguise,"

_**Author's note:**_

**This was going to be a larger chapter, but I figured this was a good place to stop.**


	6. Shopping, Bar Fights, and Hand Holding

Warning, longest chapter yet.

Chapter 6

"See, I told you it would fit," said Vear, the elven farmer that Fenris and Merrill had helped with the spider problem earlier, as he pulled out a mirror for Fenris to see himself in.

"I supposed so," Fenris said with a neutral tone as he inspected the commoner's clothing that he now wore. The clothing had comprised of a simple tan cloth shirt with long sleeves that just reached his wrists; while the sleeves themselves weren't tight on him, if he bent his arms his flexed muscles would show under the cloth. Atop the shirt was a sleeveless leather jacket of a dark brown color that Fenris figured would at least provide some protection in a fight. The final piece of clothing he wore were simple leggings made of leather.

Fenris looked over every inch of the outfit, his neutral expression turned into a frown as his eyes reached the neck of his reflection.

"There's no collar," Fenris said as he raised his hand to his neck, his fingers tracing the lyrium lines that adorned his chin and throat, flaring beacons of who he was to anyone who would be looking for him.

"Ahh, how do I look?" came a nervous voice from behind Fenris and Vear, causing the two elves to turn around to find Merrill standing by the doorway of the room she had used to change into Vear's sister's clothing; and though Fenris would never admit it, his breath was actually taken away by what he saw.

Merrill's regular choice of clothing usually consisted of relatively formless robes, but the deep green dress she now wore clung tightly and comfortably to her small yet curved body; now her form was nothing like Isabela's seemingly unnaturally curvaceous hips or cleavage, but much more subtle, natural, which made her beautiful in an innocent kind of way. The dress's simplicity, the lightly decorated white embroidery, and the wavy dress that seemed to dance around her legs only added to the beauty that seemed to resonate from Merrill.

"I'd dare say from the way that Fenris is staring at you that it looks lovely," Vear pointed out, drawing Fenris back to reality, now hopelessly self conscious of his having stared at her as he turned his head back towards the mirror.

"Anyway, there's no way we can get into the town with my tattoos showing," Fenris said, trying to turn the conversation to another topic, any topic. The elf had then raised a hand to his hair as he added, "Not to mention my hair is also a dead giveaway,"

"I think I can help with that," Merrill piped up from behind Fenris who turned around and raised an eyebrow as he waited for the young elf to continue, "Ahh, with the markings, I mean,"

Merrill then rummaged around in the sack that Vear had given them for their regular clothing and pulled out the green scarf that she normally wore all the time.

She then limped over to Fenris who stood perfectly still as she wrapped the simple cloth around his neck. Fenris noticed that Merrill was standing a bit closer than he would have preferred. He also could have put the scarf on himself, but he decided to just let Merrill put it on him herself,

As she wrapped it around him he started to notice a simple scent coming off of Merrill, kind of like morning dew in the spring, simple yet pure, everything she wasn't, as far as he was concerned.

"And there, that should cover your markings," Merrill said in a slightly triumphant tone, causing Fenris to roll his eyes as he turned around to look at himself in the mirror, and indeed she was right, for while the scarf had barely covered half of Merrill's long slender neck, it covered the entirety of Fenris' shorter one.

Merrill smiled when she noticed an ever so subtle nod of approval, or what she at least she thought it was approval, come from Fenris.

"Aha, this should do the trick," Vear said as he came back from his trunk full of clothes to hand Fenris and Merrill a straw hat and hooded cloak respectively.

V

"Are you sure we can just walk right through the front gates without being detected," Fenris inquired with some skepticism as he adjusted the straw hat for the hundredth time since putting it on.

"Yes, it's the afternoon, so the farmhands of the surrounding plantations tend to head into town to buy supplies, the gates should be crowded," Vear reassured the tattooed elf.

"How are we going to buy supplies without any money?" asked Merrill out of curiosity. She was now limping to Fenris' right, wearing the hood that Vear had given her to hopefully obscure her vallaslin.

"I'll pay for your medical bill when we get your ankle to the town's local healer; and for a room at the tavern; you two can then look for some work at the chanter's board," Vear explained.

The three elves walked in silence down the road towards the town, which was about two miles farther away, so it was going to take some time with Merrill's ankle.

"This is really a nice dress," Fenris heard Merrill say to Vear from behind him.

"It belonged to my sister," Vear said in a happy tone, but Fenris was able to catch a note of pain in his voice.

"Where is she now?"

At that Fenris glanced back to see that Vear was hanging his head, sadness clear on his face.

"She was taken by slavers… We hunted then for two weeks, but by the time we had finally found them…"

"…She was dead," Fenris finished when he noticed that Vear couldn't continue; the farmhand only nodded.

"I-I'm so sorry," Merrill said with great sincerity in her voice.

"We did everything we could, but it was too late," Vear seemed to say it more to himself then to anyone else.

At that Fenris turned his gaze away from Vear and Merrill and proceeded to stare at his own two feet. He had no idea about the current state of his own family; he knew he had one, a sister, out there somewhere, but was she even still alive? Was she even real? He had gotten the information from Hadriana of all people, what if it had all just been a last ditch effort to get away, not that it had helped her much.

Either way, he surmised that knowing for curtain that your flesh and blood is dead or alive must be far more painful than not knowing at all.

"I'm… sorry," Fenris said uncertainly, not even bothering to turn around to see if Vear had heard him or not.

"It wasn't your fault," he heard Vear reply from behind him.

It was soon after that they reached the town gates; the place was moderately crowded with buyers at the few merchant stalls that occupied both sides of the road, at the gates themselves stood four guards. The crowd served as a perfect place for any hidden slavers to hide in.

"Okay, just try to act normal and we should be able to get in without any trouble," Vear stated as he took the lead.

"That is what constitutes as normal for everyone," Fenris said in a snide tone, the intended recipient of the comment goes without saying.

Upon hearing the remark from Fenris, Merrill released a sigh before falling in step with Fenris with some difficulty given the ankle.

She couldn't help herself staring at the crowd of peasants buying supplies; she always found that a bit of a strange custom between humans, sense the Dalish shared everything.

As some of the crowd parted to her right time began to slow for her as a man sitting on a bench came into view. She remembered the dirt brown hair in dreadlocks and the pointed nose from that night in the ship's hold; it was Wendell.

Without even knowing it, her left hand quickly reached out and grabbed Fenris' and clung to it tightly for security.

Fenris flinched at the sudden unwanted contact with Merrill, and tried to remove his hand only to have her squeeze even more tightly.

Once Merrill finally realized her hand was intertwined with Fenris' she simply whispered, "He's there,"

Fenris looked over to at where Merrill's gazed was transfixed at to find that perverted slaver sitting on a bench sharpening his sword with his whetstone. Anger began to fuel inside him at the sight of the monster casually doing something as normal as tending to his weapon.

For the time being Wendell was more occupied with his sword then with the crowd, not being remotely aware of the two elves. For that both elves were thankful.

Once they made it through the gate and out of Wendell's sight Fenris swiftly and forcefully yanked his hand free of Merrill, the force of the pull so powerful that it made Merrill thankful that that slaver named Hector had removed Fenris' gauntlets otherwise he would have probably sliced her hand open. Shortly after that he grabbed her by the collar of her dress and pulled her so her face was within inches of his. He could smell her scent again as he said forcefully, "Don't ever touch me again!"

Merrill simply nodded, which got Fenris to shove her away, causing her to nearly fall to the floor if Vear hadn't been behind her to stop her fall.

"What was that about?" Fenris heard Vear ask Merrill as he turned around.

"Fenris hates being touched, that's all," he heard Merrill answer to the farmhand; it was then that Fenris began to feel a strange feeling, like he was deprived of something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

V

"And there, all better," said the healer once he had finished healing Merrill's ankle. Fenris was a little unnerved that the healer was in fact another apostate in hiding, but he figured that Merrill really needed her ankle fixed if they were to ever get back to Kirkwall, and at least it meant that the injury could be fixed easily.

Merrill took a cautious experimental step with her newly healed ankle; a smile formed on her face as she felt no pain. She glanced over at Vear and Fenris, the former smiled with approval, the latter simply leaning against the wall with his arms crossed looking as indifferent as ever.

"That will be twenty silvers," the healer insisted as he held out his hands to except his payment from Vear; who complied and gave him the required coinage.

Once the three elves left the clinic Vear led them to the town's local tavern. When they stopped outside Vear turned around and handed Fenris a coin pouch.

"There's two sovereign worth of money in that coin pouch, it should be able to rent you two a room for two days with a few meals," Vear explained, "if you need any more coin you can try the chanter's board just down that road and across the bridge,"

"Thanks," Fenris said as he put the coin pouch on his belt and shook hands with the friendly elf.

"Yea, thank you for paying for getting my ankle healed," Merrill piped up from behind Fenris; Vear gave a nod of respect towards the female elf.

"Hope you two get back to Kirkwall someday," and with that Vear turned around heading back towards the gates to head back to the farm.

"So, what do we do now?"

As though to answer her question, Merrill's stomach growled.

"I'd say that we get some food and rest, start fresh tomorrow morning," Fenris reasoned as he began walking towards the tavern with Merrill right behind him.

The room was almost completely crowded with patrons that were busy eating, drinking, playing Wicked Grace, and drinking even more. The whole room was alive with activity and no one seemed to notice the two elves that entered.

"This place smells like a neglected halla stable in here," Merrill complained as she waved her hand in front of her face to try and get rid of the stench that had assaulted her nose.

"Come on, let's get a meal," Fenris said neutrally as he walked towards the bar that ran along the left wall.

The elves took a seat next to a passed out patron that was snoring even louder than a dragon can roar, as the bartender, a Dwarf with a blond beard that was longer then he was tall, came over to them saying, "So, what can I do for ya?" Fenris eyed the bearded dwarf, who was walking on a platform behind the bar so he could be eye level with the patrons, with one of his customary scowls, while Merrill sent a wide smile his way.

Fenris ordered a plate of salted pork and a side of bread for the two to share, a glass of water for Merrill, and a glass of wine for himself.

"Hey you," said a man's voice to Merrill's right so she glanced over to find a large man leaning on the bar looking at her, she could sware that she heard the bar creak.

After looking to the other side of her to see if the man was talking to someone else and only found Fenris who seemed pretty busy staring miserably into his wine glass, she looked back at the man and asked quietly, "Ah me?"

"Yea, you, do you want to see something great?" the man said.

"Ahhh…" she began only to have Fenris interrupt her with a disinterested tone, "She's not interested,"

The man released a bellowing laugh that sent shivers up Merrill's spine before his laid back expression turned deadly intimidating as he asked, "And who are you, her boyfriend?"

"We're not a couple!" the two elves said in unison for the millionth time since they'd been captured; the man simply laughed again before walking around Merrill and started staring bloody murder at Fenris.

"You seem to act like it," the man told Fenris who seemed to continue to stare at the wine glass, ignoring him.

"Hey, knife-ear, you look at me when I talk to you," the man said as he reached out to grab and turn Fenris around only to have his wrist grabbed by the elf, who pulled him with all his strength to slam the man's gut into the bar, Fenris then slammed his elbow at the back of the man's head; causing his face to crash into the counter with a sickening sound that suggested that he had broken his nose, the whole confrontation had lasted only a second.

"Merrill, we're leaving," Fenris said as he stood up from his seat and started walking towards the door with Merrill not far behind. Fenris tried his best to ignore the fact that the entire tavern was watching them.

"Hey! We aren't done yet!" yelled the man right before Fenris felt something hard and wet shatter on the back of his head.

Fenris picked up a shard of wine-soaked glass from his shoulder. Upon realizing that the bastard had thrown Fenris' own wine glass at him, he turned around and gestured to the man to dare come after him.

Merrill watched in equal parts fascination and horror as the man charged at Fenris who simple leapt to the side as he punched the side of the man's jaw, dislocating it. Then as the man moaned in pain the elf jumped onto his back and locked his arms around the large man's throat; he squeezed so tightly that the man's face turned blue, and then purple, and finally pale white as his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and passed out, only then did Fenris let go.

There was a long silence in the tavern as everyone processed what had just occurred in front of them.

Then all of a sudden the whole room burst out with cheers and applause, causing genuine confusion to manifest on Fenris' face.

Merrill decided to join in of the applause as she watched Fenris get a bunch of unwelcomed pats on the back, causing him to flinch with the unwanted contact and Merrill to shake her head at the absurdity of the whole situation, but she applauded none the less.

After the twentieth pat on the back Fenris finally snapped and asked, "By the void, what is going on here!

"I'll tell ya what's going on here my friend; ya just beat the shit out of Fredrick! That bastard's been causing trouble for my tavern for years and nobody's been able to teach that guy a lesson!" the bartender explained.

Fenris simply glanced back at Merrill who shrugged in return.

V

Upon looking back on it, Fenris realized that Fighting Fredrick had been a good idea, seeing as the meal and room was now on the house. Fenris and Merrill ordered as much food as they could without feeling greedy, seeing as the slavers had barely fed them anything at all.

Fenris spent the rest of the evening talking to Thakhor, the dwarven bartender who also owned the tavern, about the fastest routes to Kirkwall, only to learn that there weren't any real direct roads from the town. The the best road to take actually looped back up to the Minanter river, travelled west and towards the Imperial Highway and then down south towards the coast and east along said coast, the whole journey taking two months to complete.

"Okay, I do believe that it's time we call it a night," Fenris said before stifling a yawn.

"I hear ya," the dwarf then turned his head towards the door that led to the kitchen, "Eleanor, give these two a room!"

Fenris and Merrill followed the woman upstairs who led them to a room and opened it for them.

Upon entering Fenris found one immediate problem.

"There's only one bed," Merrill said what Fenris was thinking.

"That shouldn't be a problem should it?" the woman named Eleanor asked.

"Open your eyes you idiot!" Fenris bellowed while gesturing towards the bed.

"What are you two having an argument or something?"

"We're NOT a couple!" the elves yelled in unison, revelation finally dawning on the woman.

"Oh, I'm so sorry but this is the only room available," the woman said sincerely, then closed the door, leaving the two elves alone with the lone bed.

Fenris side glanced at Merrill, who in turn looked back at him; each one expecting the other to say something.

"Okay, maybe you should have the bed and I should get the floor?" Merrill offered.

"No, you should get the bed," Fenris insisted, "Besides; I'm a light sleeper so I'll keep guard in case the slavers decide to search the tavern."

"Well, in that case, use this to arm yourself," Merrill said as she reached into their sack of their original clothing and produced a knife.

"You kept the knife you got on the slave ship?" It wasn't a question.

"Yea, it has proven useful today," Merrill said as she turned it around in her hand.

"When did you get a chance to use it?" Fenris asked, a little suspicious now.

"When we fought those giant spiders at the farm," Merrill said in a nervous tone that did not escape Fenris' notice.

"You were at a distance the whole time," he said forcefully as he ripped the small weapon from her hand, almost cutting her.

"Ah… I-I…" she stuttered nervously as she subconsciously rubbed her left forearm.

"Let me see your arm," Fenris said in a tone that said that it wasn't a request.

"Ah… why?" Merrill wished that she had chosen something more intelligent to say because Fenris had then forcefully grabbed her wrist and pulled up the sleeve of the dress to reveal two shallow cuts along her forearm among the many scars from her years of using blood magic, the blood from the wounds had clotted, showing that they were several hours old.

"You used BLOOD MAGIC!" Fenris scolded at her like a disapproving father would scold a child, his rage pouring into every word.

"Fenris please, I didn't have a staff so I couldn't focus my mana by normal means, it was the only way I could help in the fight," She pleaded for him to understand.

"A fight I told you to stay out of!" Fenris was fuming now, "Has it crossed your mind that every time you use blood magic you risk possession?"

"Fenris I know what I'm doing," she insisted, this got Fenris to raise his hand, her wrist still clasped in it, so that her face as inches from his.

"No you don't know what you're doing!" Merrill could smell his rotten breath with every accusatory word, "You are tampering with forces beyond your control, and it's only a matter of time before your desire for power kills you!"

"D-desire for WHAT!" Merrill couldn't believe her ears, "I've NEVER used blood magic for power, only for fixing the Eluvian and for survival when it is required!"

"I've seen countless apostates become abominations because they used blood magic for survival, you're no different!" At that Merrill had had enough and managed to yank her hand free and shove him, but her small stature was nothing compared to Fenris' toned body so she barely caused him to lean back.

"Get out!" she hissed venomously at Fenris, who retained his neutral expression again and turned to leave out the door. Only then did Merrill's façade break and she fell onto the bed and let tears run down her face.

For she knew deep down, that Fenris was right.

V

"Had trouble with the girlfriend I see," Thakhor said as he poured another shot of whiskey for Fenris who swallowed it in one quick gulp.

"She's not my girlfriend," Fenris said miserably, as he was getting tired of everyone's assumption that he and Merrill were romantically involved, which was a total impossibility.

"Oh, siblings then?" Thakhor inquired as he poured another glass.

"Let's try, 'reluctant travelling companions'," Fenris corrected as he drained the small glass again.

"How did you two come to this predicament?"

"Slavers attacked me, I could have fended them off myself, but then she showed up and tried to help, only to distract me and a slaver ambushed me from behind," he then took the bottle from Thakhor as the dwarf was about to pour him another shot, "It's her fault that we're Maker knows how far away from home."

At the top of the stairs, unknown to the elf and dwarf, a figure ran back to her room to sulk in misery.

V

"And there my friends, is the Imperial bridge," said Ghurm with an overdramatic wave of his arm as Thedas' longest bridge came into view; the entire sight a true spectacle to behold.

The bridge was an architectural marvel, made of stone yet perfectly capable of standing on its own over the Minanter despite having eroded over seven hundred years. Its most impressive feature, was at the archway, which was in the shape of two stone Magisters standing a hundred feet tall, with their staffs raised another hundred feet, the two staffs connecting at tip, making it the tallest structure of the pre-chantry era.

Sebastian looked at his allies, all of them transfixed at the world wonder, all except for Hawke that was.

Hawke didn't care about the imperial highway bridge, he just wanted to get to Nevarra as fast as possible, to find and save Merrill, to hold her and tell her how much he needed her, that he couldn't stand ever losing her again.

"How much longer till we reach Nevarra?" Hawke asked Ghurm.

"Why in such a rush my friend? For once we reach Nevarra our paths must part," He then glanced over at Varric before adding, "Would you let my heart bear such sorrow?"

"I can't believe I'm saying this but, your poetry is worst than Sebastian's daily prayers," Anders joked.

"Hey!"

"Can we get back on track now?" Hawke interrupted, trying to get the atmosphere as serious as possible.

"Right, if we keep going at this rate, we should reach Nevarra by this time tomorrow," Ghurm explained.

"And exactly what are we going to do once we get there?" asked Isabela.

"My contacts say that there is a man that goes by the name of Herder that inspects potential slaves," said Varric.

"Inspects?" Sebastian asked.

"You know, inspects them, figures which ones are the healthiest, which ones appear most useful for labor, which ones are more attractive, which ones are virgins…"

"I think we get it Varric," Anders interrupted, crept out by what he had just heard.

"So how do we find this Herder?" Hawke asked his expression disturbingly calm.

"Not entirely sure about that, but I've arranged to meet one of my contacts at one of the taverns, he might be able to help," Varric explained.

"It's a start," Hawke admitted, then stared up at the two statues of the Magisters, as if they reminded him of what he was trying to save Merrill from, and reaffirmed his determination to find her.

No matter the cost.

V

Merrill awoke the next morning feeling worse than she had when she had gone to bed the previous night, mostly because she had been awake during most of the night thinking of what Fenris had said, how he blamed her for their situation.

"Oh Mythal have mercy," She whispered to herself as she got out of bed and started to get dressed; dreading today's events with Fenris.

Once she was dressed Merrill she walked down to the main room of the tavern to find Fenris slumped over the bar with three rather large empty bottles.

Not wanting to wake him for fearing of how angry he'd be for having a hangover, Merrill silently walked over and carefully untied the money pouch from the sleeping elf's belt and decided to go shopping for supplies.

Merrill walked around the town looking for the market, very much hoping that she wouldn't get lost.

"Yea, how's the ankle?" asked a voice from Behind Merrill, she turned around to find the very same healer that they had met yesterday walking over towards her.

"Pretty good, thanks again for fixing it," Merrill said politely to the fellow mage.

"You're welcome, and may I ask, why you are up so early?" the healer inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Looking for the market," She explained as she started looking around again.

"Well you're at the wrong side of town I'm afraid," The healer pointed out, "Come on, I'll walk you there."

"Thanks again," Merrill smiled as she followed the guy to the market.

V

Fenris woke up with a splitting headache; drinking all that whiskey would account for that. He suddenly remembered why he had drunk so much and decided to check up on Merrill.

He walked into the room to find the bed empty, at that it dawned on him that Merrill had probably ran off.

Fenris then quickly checked his belt for the coin pouch only to find it missing as well.

"You've got to be KIDDING ME!" Fenris roared in frustration as he slammed his fist against the wall; he had no money, was nearly a country away from the first place he had ever called home, and the blood mage had upped and left him.

With that he trudged on down the stairs to find Merrill walking in through the door.

"Where did you go!" Fenris demanded an explanation.

"Shopping," was all Merrill said with a shrug.

"You wasted our money?"

"No, I made use of our money," Merrill explained as she tossed the sack that was on her shoulder to Fenris who caught it with ease.

The tattooed elf then searched through the contents of the bag, the first thing he noticed was the pair of gauntlets at the bottom.

"I figured you missed you old ones, these aren't sharp like the last ones, but I figured they could at least cover the lyrium on your hands," Merrill explained.

"Thanks," was all Fenris said as he put them on, they fit on his hands like, well, a glove.

"I also managed to get you a sword," Merrill then picked up the weapon, which Fenris took with ease, it wasn't a bastard or claymore like he was used to, but it would do.

After testing the weapon's balance, Fenris looked back at Merrill and nodded his approval, noticing something for the first time.

"You got a new staff," Fenris pointed out. The new staff was relatively simple in design, made out of some kind of wood with metal barbs on the end of one end and a small blade at the other end for close quarters battle.

"Yea, this way I won't have to always use blood magic," Merrill said as she fidgeted with her hands, "Sorry about yesterday,"

"Forget about it," Fenris said as he continued to search through the sacks contents, finding a flint stone and some fruit.

"How much money do we have left?" Fenris had to ask.

"Fifty-two silver and thirty-eight copper," Merrill admitted.

"We had best get to that chanter's board then," Fenris said as he strapped on his new sword and walked out of the tavern with Merrill right next to him.


	7. Religious Arguement

**Warning: the chapter is unbeta-ed, but hopefully will be replaced with a edited vision in the future.**

**Update: Chapter is now been beta-ed**

Chapter 7

_One month prior to the kidnapping…_

Merrill was sitting at her table on the far side of the main room finishing up dinner when she heard a knock on her door.

"Coming!" she yelled so she could be heard by her visitor as she got up to put her emptied plate in the sink before walking across the room to meet her guest.

Upon opening the door Merrill was greeted by the sight of Hawke standing in her doorway.

"Oh, hello Hawke, are we going on an adventure or something?" Merrill greeted and asked as she gestured for Hawke to enter.

"Hello to you too Merrill, and did you forget? Everyone is going stargazing on top on the Amell Estate tonight?" Hawke elaborated as he walked through the doorway and into the main room.

"Oh I'm so sorry I forgot, I was preoccupied with getting groceries for dinner, and then I found this great looking book at the market so I purchased it, and then I got lost because I had forgotten my ball of twine, and got attacked by some bad men that Varric didn't pay off to leave me alone, so I had to fight them off, and once I got home I started reading the book which I got completely engrossed in… and I'm babbling like a fool again, aren't I? I'll be quiet now, sorry…" Merrill rambled on with the reason why she had forgotten about the stargazing plans.

"I don't mind, you're adorable when you're flustered," Hawke flirted, showing that he wasn't annoyed by the rambling.

"Really? Because you usually interrupt me when I'm in the middle of one of my rants," Merrill pointed out.

"Because I had never really noticed how cute you look when you do it till now," Hawke explained.

"Oh, well, ahh… thanks," Merrill said uncertainly as her cheeks burned red, starting feeling a little bit uncomfortable near Hawke. Ever since the death of Leandra two months ago, Hawke had seemed to fold in on himself and barely socialized with anyone, until three days ago when he suddenly started acting really nice to the ones he cared about, towards her especially, not that he wasn't nice before, but something just seemed off about him now.

"Shall we get going, everyone else is waiting," said Hawke as he gestured towards the door.

"Of course," Merrill had said in an excited tone as she fell in step with Hawke out of her home and into the alienage. From there they walked up the stairs that went into the rest of Lowtown and passed the Hanged Man into the market, and then up the stairs to Hightown. The whole time the two friends didn't speak, but Merrill could have sworn that she saw Hawke sneak glances at her from the corner of her eyes every half minute or so.

"You want to talk about something Hawke?" Merrill inquired once they reached the top of the stairs and entered the Hightown market.

"Sure, how's the Eluvian coming along?" Hawke asked as he sidestepped to let a group of nobles pass by, and then fell in step next to Merrill again once the nobles where out of the way.

"It is difficult without the Arulin'holm, but I think I'm making progress, I hope," Merrill explained while wringing her hands together, seeing as it was Hawke who had denied her the carving tool.

"Right, I should probably return that," Hawke offered with a shrug.

Merrill couldn't believe her ears; she distinctly remembered Hawke saying on Sundermount that it was too dangerous and that she should just give up on the mirror. Something was diffidently wrong with Hawke, and she wanted to question his offer. But the thought of finally having the Dalish artifact was too much to risk, so she didn't say anything at first for fear that Hawke might change his mind if she said the wrong thing.

"What's wrong Merrill; isn't that what you wanted?" Hawke asked after noticing that Merrill hadn't respond, his voice sounding sincere and concerned to her ears.

"Umm… ah, yea… yes, thank you, f-for the Arulin'holm… that is," She stumbled over her words, still not entirely sure whether this was a joke or some weird human custom to withhold things from people saying that they don't deserve them before giving it to said things four days later anyway.

"Well, here it is," Hawke said as he reached into his coat and produced the dagger, which he promptly handed to Merrill.

The Dalish cautiously took the Arulin'holm into her hand, after turning it around in her hand a couple of times, she smiled at Hawke in appreciation.

"Thank you," said Merrill as she tucked the dagger away in her own robes so as not to lose it. She couldn't stop smiling, for Hawke seemed genuinely nice towards her.

"You're happy aren't you," it wasn't a question so much as a statement and Merrill merely nodded her head as her smile broadened.

"Have you noticed?" was all Merrill could utter under the smile.

"Merrill, if you were anymore giddy you'd be floating around," Hawke pointed out.

"Oh my, I didn't know being giddy would be so bad, you don't think I'll float away into the sky would you?" Merrill said in a concerned voice.

At that Hawke released a pleasant chuckle before adding, "No Merrill, it was a joke, you won't go floating away into the sky, I was just saying that you seem really happy,"

Merrill's mouth formed an O at the understanding of the joke; she then glanced over to find that they had reached Hawke's estate.

"Well, we're here," Hawke announced before he began climbing the ivy that grow all around the estate, giving it an older, more nature friendly look in Merrill's eyes.

Only after Hawke got about halfway up did Merrill began ascending the ivy covered wall as well. Once she reached the top Hawke offered his hand so he could pull her up onto the roof.

"Daisy, glad you could make it," said an all too familiar voice to Merrill's left. Once the young elf turned her head she was greeted to the sight of Varric, Isabela, Fenris, Anders, and Aveline, all on the roof as well. Merrill vaguely wonders how the dwarf had managed to get on the roof given his poor climbing skills.

"Hello Varric, Isabela, Aveline, Anders… Fenris," Merrill greeted the entire group who returning their welcome except for Fenris who only grunted before he continued to drink from his wine bottle.

Paying no attention to Fenris' lack of a response, Merrill followed Varric to the crate that was full of various kinds of wines. Varric opened the crate and offered Merrill her favorite kind of wine; what it was called Merrill could never remember, but she liked it only because it had the sweetest taste compared to others and the aftertaste wasn't as strong. Still, she could still only take a sip at a time because the taste still wasn't that good.

Wine bottle in hand, Merrill walked over towards her group of friends and acquaintances as she took a sip and stuck her tongue out in mild disgust for not being used to the taste after so long a time after drinking last.

Merrill then laid down next to Isabela with Hawke lying down to the elf's right a second afterwards, The group then proceeded to continue their stargazing; the spectacle of the night sky a magnificent array of stars forming a great white painting of constellations against a pitch-black canvas.

It was important that the group got to indulge in normal pastimes such as this; with the stress of the Qunari, the Templars, and everyone's own personal issues, doing simple things together helped keep them all sane.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" Merrill said absently as she drank in the view before taking another sip from her wine bottle.

"It was," said a slurred and disinterested voice to Merrill's left. The Dalish leaned forward to see past Isabela to find Fenris on the other side of the pirate staring at the sky like he hadn't said anything.

"What do you mean Fenris? The sky is quite nice tonight," Merrill explained.

"The sky is nice, but the mood is unpleasant," Merrill could tell from the way Fenris' words slurred out of his mouth that he was extremely drunk.

"And how is the mood unpleasant Broody?" Varric inquired.

"Yea, it is actually quite peaceful, a nice change from the usual dire circumstances we're normally in," Aveline added.

Fenris shrugged, tearing his eyes away from the sky and towards Merrill as he slurred, "Just saying, the company could be much better,"

"Really Broody? You're going to ruin the mood just because Daisy is here with us?" Varric exclaimed, disappointed that Fenris still couldn't seem to let his grudge go, even drunk.

"Not my fault you trust the little magister. Don't you realize that it will only take one little dire situation to have her sacrifice us all in the heat of battle," Fenris slurred in a casual tone as though it was a fact that would happen.

"W-Wha… you, I… I would never sacri… argh!" complained Merrill before she stood up and stormed away towards the way she had come.

"Merrill, wait!" Hawke insisted as he got up and ran after her.

"You sure do have a way with the ladies, don't you Fenris," Isabela replied in a snide remark at the drunk elf before following after Hawke and Merrill.

Fenris simply took another swig of his booze as though nothing had happened.

V

_Present day_

Fenris and Merrill walked through the crowded streets of the town looking for the chanter's board; using the Chantry bell tower that rose above the other buildings as guidance towards their destination. Once the day reached high noon the bell tower started to ring.

"Why does the chantry always ring the bell at noon?" Merrill inquired with her usual lack of human knowledge.

"To inform everyone that it is noon and time for lunch mostly," Fenris explained simply; but not without a little bit of annoyance, mostly due to the slight hangover he still had from last night.

"Oh well that's just silly, we Dalish just look at the sun to see when it's high noon," Merrill explained.

"Well I guess humans prefer not to go blind for doing something as simple as figuring out what time it is," Fenris offered, hoping that that would end the conversation, then he silently wondered in his pain racked mind if it was always this bright out.

"Oh do humans go instantly blind if they look at the sun? Because it just really hurts for elves if you only glance at it, and you usually get weird little dots floating around for awhile for just looking at it," Merrill said innocently, causing Fenris to rub his forehead in barely contained discomfort.

"Let's just get to the Chanter's board," Fenris insisted as they continued hopefully without another word.

About five minutes of walking later they finally reached the Chantry courtyard, the area surrounded by tall golden gates. The interior of the courtyard was one filled with beautiful flower gardens along with carefully trimmed hedges aligned in rows parallel to the cobblestone paths. There were also two fountains, one on either side of the courtyard, each with a stone statue of some woman in fine robes with water pouring out of her hands and eyes, making her look like she was crying. Merrill deduced that it was most likely that one prophet the humans worshiped, Androsty? Ambrosia? Merrill could never remember her name seeing as she never much cared about Sebastian's constant talk about their heretic faith.

"There's the Chanter's board," Fenris pointed out, snapping Merrill out of her thoughts.

The two elves walked up towards the board that resided next to the entry to the church itself; next to the board was an elderly woman, likely a mother seeing that she was wearing a simple yet fine set of robes and held out a basket with some coin in it.

"Why hello dears, may I ask you to donate to the Chantry and help spread the Chant of Light?" the elderly woman asked sweetly.

"Why would I ever spread your faith?" Merrill inquired in a less then polite tone.

"Ah, I see, you are blinded to the Light my child, but no worry, the Maker embraces and loves all, follow me so we may cleanse you of your sins, and bathe you in the Light" the woman offered.

Fenris didn't like the look that seemed to spark in Merrill's eyes.

"I have no intention of being cleansed of anything, and I diffidently won't bathe in your heretic light!" Merrill's voice rose with every word. Fenris subconsciously inched his hand towards the hint of his new sword, more for security then with any intent to use it.

"My Child!" The Mother said in a slightly shocked tone, "How could you not want to help spread the Maker's love across the four corners of Thedas, and have us sing in Earthly Paradise?"

At that Merrill exploded, "Maybe because your filthy faith is false, maybe because you heretic beliefs have driven my people all but to extinction, or maybe because your so called Maker is the filthy Dread Wolf that banished the Creators!"

"My child, you must understand that your people's barbaric practices will lead you to your own destruction,"

At that Merrill's mind reverted to that of a primal animal as she attempted to pounce on the revered mother with every intention of smashing her head in for calling her faith nothing more than 'barbaric practices'. She would have done it too, if Fenris hadn't reacted and wrapped his hands around the enraged elf's waist to keep her away from the woman.

"Leave!" Fenris commanded the woman as he tried desperately to control the crazed Dalish. Once the woman had left Fenris half carried, half dragged a screaming, yelling, and biting Merrill to the side of the chantry before letting her go.

"Why did you stop me!" Merrill shrieked at Fenris as she pointed an accusatory finger in his face, which the ex-slave swatted away without a word.

"She insulted our Gods!" Merrill rambled at him.

"They're not my gods," Fenris pointed out, knowing full well that it would piss off Merrill even more.

"You filthy traitor!" Merrill screamed as she pounded a fist at Fenris' chest, barely causing him to tilt back, only causing Merrill to swing another fist, and another, and another.

The whole time Merrill kept hitting him Fenris did nothing, just stood there with his arms crossed as the petite elf threw punch after punch at his chest, Fenris just stood completely solid and unmoving, but with no inclination to retaliate.

After ten whole minutes of fist pounding, Merrill finally gave up with as she exhaled heavily; exhausted from the exertion she had put her body through.

"Feeling better now?" Fenris inquired as he raised an eyebrow.

"I feel exhausted," Merrill told the other elf as she leaned against the wall behind her, completely out of breath.

"I meant you frustration and anger," Fenris elaborated.

"All gone now," Merrill pointed out as she pushed herself off of the wall and took a few steady breaths.

"Good, now we can get back to why we came here in the first place," Fenris said neutrally as he walked past her and to the front of the chantry.

Merrill was awestruck at what had just happened, Fenris knew how to calm her even when she didn't, she couldn't help but smile at that.

"You coming or not?" Merrill heard Fenris' voice from around the corner, causing her to quickly follow.

V

Having found a good contract, the two elves returned to the rest of the city in search of the town gates to find a child killer that stalked the woods just outside the village.

During the entire walk through town the two remained in silence with Fenris sneaking glances towards his companion ever twenty seconds or so. A passerby might look and catch the male elf's eyes darting towards the young woman and mistaken it for sexual interest, but it was far from the truth.

Ever since Merrill had gone ballistic on the revered mother at the chantry board Fenris had felt slightly more uncomfortable than usual. To have to travel with a naive blood mage was one thing, but travelling with a naïve blood mage armed with that much potential rage was something to be cautious about. He'd look over towards her every now and then to make sure she was still calm, thankfully she just seemed lost in thought, Fenris could only guess at whatever was going through her head.

Merrill was terrified.

To anyone looking at her, they'd think of her as a young elf just trying to get to her destination like any other individual in the streets. But inside she couldn't stop replaying the incident over and over in her mind's eye. At first she had simply rejected it as a bad dream, not entire sure it had actually happened; but once the shock had worn off she accepted it without believing it, accepting it had actually happened, but didn't believe it; she was in shock that she had been about to strangle an old woman over an argument.

Sure, the woman had insulted her deities; but it wasn't the first time someone had spat on her faith, she had even been trained by the keeper to ignore such comments and insults. So what was different this time?

Merrill finally deduced that it was from the stress of her current situation; miles away from her home and friends and stuck with someone she wasn't sure of anymore, not that she had been sure of Fenris before, but after the ship incident she hadn't fully been able to trust him in the slightest anymore.

At the thought of the ship her mood soured; she still felt guilty about the whole thing even with Fenris' advice two nights ago, that combined with her shaken faith.

For some odd reason she glanced over towards Fenris only to find that he had been glimpsing at her from the corner of his eye. The tattooed elf quickly looked away like nothing had happened. Which only made Merrill feel worse; was she so dangerous that Fenris figured she needed to be watched over, like some misbehaving dog that would run away and cause trouble the second she was unsupervised?

With that Merrill hung her head in misery, her eyes focusing on the sack of supplies that she carried along at her side, so she simply reached in and pulled out a red apple to bite into.

She closed her eyes and breathed calmly through her nose as the piece of apple touched her tongue, allowing the ever so slightly sour taste and the juices to dance in her mouth in a peaceful sensation that she could always depend on.

After a few more bites Merrill looked at the apple for no other reason other than to look at it, the core and seeds visible from her eating.

A thought crossed Merrill's mind causing her to put on a knowing smile, and continued to eat the apple.

"Mind if I have one?" Merrill heard Fenris ask to her right.

"Sure," answered Merrill as she put her apple in her mouth to hold and used her newly freed hand to grab Fenris one of his own.

"Just please remember to save the seeds for me," Merrill requested before taking another bite of the apple.

"And why is that?" Fenris asked as he inspected the apple.

"You wouldn't understand," Merrill admitted.

Fenris simply took another bite of his apple as though nothing had happened.


	8. Lullaby

"_**I'm really loving this story so far, its well written and well paced. Probably one of the best fanfics I've read in awhile now. Cannot wait for the next chapter. I'm checking my account nearly everyday now to see if you've put up a new chapter. Keep up the good work. :D"**_

**This was a review for this story that I still can't wrap my head around. Either I'm a better writer then I thought, or you guys and gals have no taste in writing; hopefully it's the former. Remember that it's your reviews that inspire me to push forward and craft this apparently 'well written and well paced' tale about my personal two favorite elves.**

**Warning: Possibly one of the darkest chapters I've ever written given the overall theme.**

Chapter: 8

Fredrick tested his jaw again. Even though the local healer had fixed it after having it dislocated by that one elf with the white hair in the tavern last night; it still didn't feel quite right.

And here he was, sitting on a bench across the street from said tavern because the owner threatened to contact the elf if he was ever found in there again, this did not help his mood.

He soon heard the sound of two men conversing off to his left, and tilted his head to listen, "The sooner we find those elves the better, and the boss is getting mighty impatient,"

A wicked smile played on Fredrick's lips.

V

"How exactly are we going to find this criminal when he's been terrorizing the town for five years and no one's been able to find him?" Merrill inquired as she knelt down to look at some tracks in the forest they were now walking through, only to stand back up upon finding that it was deer tracks

"The Villagers all found the remains of their children by a small cave, so we start our search there," Fenris explained as he continued onward before quickly hiding behind a tree and signaling Merrill to stay down where she was.

"What is it?" Merrill whispered as she knelt back down, but Fenris simply put his finger to his lips signaling to her to be quiet.

After a few minutes Fenris gave the all clear and Merrill finally stood back up as she asked, "What was that about, slavers?"

"No, it was a bear and her cubs; if she had noticed us she would have attacked to protect her offspring," Fenris explained as he and Merrill continued on in the direction of the cave that the post on the chanter's board described.

After fifteen minutes of uneventful walking the two elves came across a cliff face that rose roughly fifty feet from the ground that the two currently stood on.

"Look! There's the cave," Merrill pointed out, causing Fenris to glance over in the direction her finger pointed; and sure enough, an opening in the cliff revealed an entrance into a cave that matched the description they had been given.

With that Fenris wordlessly unsheathed his new sword as he cautiously walked towards the entrance, his whole body tense in preparation for a fight.

Merrill, taking her cue from Fenris, brought out her staff and joined the other elf that was leaning against the edge of the entrance. Once Merrill was next to Fenris, the ex-slave held up three fingers and did a silent countdown with them. The moment Fenris reached zero he and Merrill whipped around the corner weapons raised, hoping to catch anyone who might be in the cave off guard, only to find no one.

The cave itself was fairly unimpressive; the ceiling was ten feet off the ground, the back wall only twenty feet in, and the whole cave was ten feet in width.

"Well this was a waste of time," Fenris declared as he kicked a stray peddle out of frustration, Merrill however wasn't as defeated as she reached down and seemed to observe the ground at her feet.

"There's a lot of blood inside this cave, most used in blood magic rituals," Merrill explained as she stood back up, her faced bearing a worried expression.

"Great, just perfect," Fenris spoke with a sarcastic snide, "Can you tell what kind of blood ritual?"

"No, only that it must have required a lot of blood, seeing as I can detect twenty-eight different life essences in the blood, all young," Merrill stated grimly.

"The bastard butchered twenty-eight children for some ritual," Fenris said in equal parts grim, disgusted, and shocked. Then his expression turned hostile, glaring bloody murder at Merrill as he spat, "Perhaps now you can see that magic, especially blood magic can only do harm!"

With that Merrill released a heavy sigh as she explained, "All forms of magic have both good and bad sides, like how a fire spell can be used to either make a campfire or burn an individual; it all depends on how you use it,"

"And exactly what good uses can blood magic have?" Fenris countered as he crossed his arms waiting for a response.

With that Merrill looked at Fenris with a slightly angered expression as she calmly pointed out, "Allowing me to achieve in one night what took you two weeks to fail at,"

"And that would be?"

"Getting us free of the slavers," Merrill retorted as she proudly walked past Fenris in victory to continue investigating the cave.

"Come on, there's nothing else to explore inside this cave," Fenris said as Merrill started to study the far wall.

Merrill completely ignored Fenris as she raised her hand to her chin, staring at the wall. After some time, she placed her other hand on the wall and sent her magic questing through the rock formation; the dalish pariah then smiled knowingly as she felt a response.

"I think I found something," Merrill stated towards Fenris before she sent a new spell into the wall. Fenris watched in shock as the wall evaporated before Merrill as though it had never been there, revealing a dimly lit passage further in.

"Now we know why no one has ever found the killer," Fenris pointed out as he walked over to Merrill; who gave him a knowing smile.

"See, magic does have its uses," Merrill all but gloated as she resolutely entered the newly revealed passage.

Fenris just stood frozen in place as he watched Merrill vanish in the passage, processing what just happened, before following suit as he muttered to himself, "Perhaps,"

V

The two travelled for what seemed like an eternity; the cave, which gave the impression of an ancient mine, being so deep that Merrill had to summon a light spell just so they could seem ten feet in front of them. Fenris' nerves were on edge for any sign of trouble; for everything about this place just felt, wrong in some way. Like he was expecting something to attack him from behind but he just didn't know when.

"Do you hear that?" Merrill whispered, drawing Fenris from his thoughts to the here and now. The ex-slave strained his ears and sure enough, the sound of sniffling could be heard.

"Sounds like a small boy," noticed Fenris as he managed to figure out that the noise was coming from ahead of them.

The two cautiously continued on until they came across a small figure to the left that was sitting on the ground by the wall. The child's face was buried in its knees as it kept itself huddled up.

The child had long black hair, his clothes were worn and dirty, suggesting that he had been in the cave for awhile, and the boy was wavering in a rocking motion.

"It's okay Da'len, you're safe now," Merrill tried to comfort the child as she took a step forward, only to have an outstretched arm block her path.

"Something doesn't feel right here," Fenris warned, and at that moment the child looked up at them with its empty eye sockets that adorned a rotten, leathery face. The creature then released an inhuman scream as it pounced on Fenris, who swiftly sliced it in half with his sword; Merrill then used a fire spell to burn the still crawling upper half.

"By the dread wolf, what was that!" Merrill panicked once the events that had just transpired fully registered.

"I think we now know what this child killer is using the kids for, making an undead army of some kind, but for what?" Fenris wondered as he examined the charred corpse.

"This is just… wrong, to kill innocent children…" was all Merrill could mutter before she fell on her knees and let tears wash down her face. Fenris glanced back to see Merrill in such a painfully vulnerable state; he tore his eyes away from her for he knew what she was thinking about, that little child on the slave ship who was most likely dead now.

"The important thing right now is that the monster that caused this won't harm anyone else ever again," Fenris stated, which seemed to help Merrill for she wiped away her tears as she weakly replied, "Okay,"

Before he knew what he was doing Fenris then walked over to offer his hand to help her up, which she took so he could pull her on her feet.

The two just stood there for a moment, just looking at each other for no apparent reason that Fenris could figure out; the ex-slave then glanced down at his hand still intertwined with Merrill and abruptly pulled it away before walking past her to continue in searching for the criminal.

The two eventually came across some lit torches along the walls of the cave. This discovery was helpful in two ways in that it meant that Merrill didn't have to waste mana to give the two a source of light, and it also showed that someone was down here.

"Is that… a desk?" Fenris inquired as they came across the out of place object.

"Maybe we can find information about our killer from some notes," Merrill suggested as she walked over to search the piece of furniture.

"Fine, I'll keep guard then," Fenris offered as he withdrew his sword, not wanting to mention to Merrill that he couldn't read.

"I found some kind of page from a journal or something," Merrill declared as she picked up the page.

"Well read it then," Fenris insisted as he continued his patrol.

"…_I've lost another one; the healer says that it is likely I won't be able to bear any children. What does he know about bearing children? I will have a child, and I will love him like nothing else…"_

"That's it," Merrill explained.

"So our killer is an infertile woman then? That would explain the kidnapped children," Fenris inquired when he thought he saw something move in the shadows ahead.

"Yes, but that wouldn't explain why she kills and sacrifices them," Merrill pointed out as she placed the note back on the desk.

"Well come on, let's get going," Fenris insisted as they started on down the path again.

V

"Welcome to the city of Nevarra," Ghurm proclaimed as the wagon reached the top of the hill they currently travelled upon to find a true spectacle for the eyes.

All before them was nothing but city for miles ahead, the Nevarran Harbor along the Minanter River being the only visible end to the city, filled with ships of all kinds. The actual city was impressively filled with artistically appealing buildings that cluttered together to form a colorful canvas of reds, whites, yellows and oranges; the warmer colors complementing the current autumn season.

Deep in the city, raising above all other structures, stood several gargantuan mausoleums where the wealthier denizens of Nevarra buried their dead, elaborate palaces that seemed fit for a king, making the Kirkwall Chantry and Viscount Palace seem insignificant in size.

As the wagon travelled down the hill Hawke turned to Varric as he inquired, "Who's this contact of yours and where will we be meeting him?"

"His name is Roger and we should be meeting him at the Dragon's Head Tavern, he frequents the place, also claims that the best drinks available to commoners in the city are served there,"

"And we can trust an apparent drunkard?" Anders asked the dwarf.

"Hay, he may not be the most polite or cleanest, but he's reliable, only sent me astray once," Varric elaborated.

"Once?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"Do we even want to know?" Anders added.

"Varric put his arms up in defense as he stated, "Hey, that was a onetime thing, sure it may have involved the Coterie, a two hundred year aged bottle of Antivan wine, a farmer's daughter, and maybe a bronto, but trust me this guy's reliable,"

"I'm not even going to ask how those things come together," Anders remarked.

"Point is, we get to this Roger, Find Herder, beat the shit out of him, and find Merrill and Fenris," Hawke stated to get things back on track; frustration clear in his voice.

With that the group fell silent as they made their way past the city gates and into a large opened yard that served as a market for the citizens of Nevarra to buy, sell, and trade in.

"I'm afraid this is where we must part ways my friends,' Ghurm proclaimed sadly as he stopped the wagon and turned and rested his arm on the back of the driver's seat to look the band of misfits with a sad expression clear on his face.

"I'm not sorry about parting ways," Varric spoke up hastily, "in fact I'm quite happy to be liberated of your presence,"

Ghurm visibly flinched at that; then quickly plastered on a smile, "I hope you find your friends,"

"Thanks for the luck, and thank you for the ride," Sebastian stated sincerely as he hopped off the back of the wagon.

"Yea, we couldn't have gotten here without your help," Anders added as he got off the wagon and stretched his arms over his head.

Once Hawke Varric and Isabela got off the wagon as well; Ghurm gave his farewells before travelling on to his usual spot in the market and had started setting up shop, leaving the five companions alone in the giant city.

"Okay, where's the Brothel?" Isabela inquired seriously before adding, "I haven't had any decent sex in weeks, no offence Anders,"

"Hay,"

"Okay… on that note, lets head towards the Dragon's Head," Varric offered to the group.

"Looks like Hawke is way ahead of you, Varric," Sebastian stated as he pointed past the dwarf who turned around to find the groups fearless leader heading off without them.

V

"Do you hear that?" Merrill asked Fenris as they reached a wide open cavern that split into four different tunnels, one behind them where they had just come from, and three across the wide open space; the whole place dimly lit by torches along the wall.

Fenris strained his ears as he struggled to make out what Merrill was talking about, an almost inaudible sound, just barely louder than the usual white noise. What made the sound strange was that Fenris could just barely make out a rhythm to it, almost like a song.

"Is someone singing down here?" Fenris questioned disbelievingly as he tried to discern the direction of the noise.

"I think so," Merrill replied.

Fenris closed his eyes to try and focus on the noise before saying, "I think it's coming from this way,"

Merrill followed Fenris down the path he had indicated; and sure enough, the sound increased in volume; the distinction of a rhythm becoming clearer.

"You feel that?" Merrill inquired of Fenris.

"No, I don't,"

"It's strange, I sense the veil is very thin here and something is trying to come through from the Fade," The Dalish Pariah explained.

"Demon perhaps?" Fenris had offered as he thought he saw something moving just beyond his field of vision.

"No, this is something else; it's not sinister by nature, just wrong in some way, but whatever it is, it's weak and gentle, like a child's sigh," Merrill's expression was one of great confusion as she tried to explain it. Fenris assumed he must have had the same look on his own face as he didn't quite understand it himself.

It was then at that point the song that they've been hearing for the past five minutes was now very clear, the lyrics now audible.

"I don't recognize the words," Merrill admitted as she scrunched up her face and closed her eyes to concentrate only on the song.

"It's Arcanum," Fenris elaborated as he saw the same movement again in the shadows, causing him to reach for his sword, just in case.

"Do you know the words?" Merrill asked in curiosity.

"It's a Tevinter lullaby, one that mothers would sing to their children to ease them into sleep," explained Fenris as the unsheathed his sword.

"Who would sing a lullaby down here?"

"I don't know, but I think we have bigger problems right now," Fenris answered sternly as he grabbed a torch out of its holder and threw it with all his strength; the flames revealing a half dozen of the living children corpses.

The exact moment their cover was blow the undead creatures shrieked at the top of their lungs as they charged towards the elves. Merrill quickly cast a Winter's Grasp at the closest creature right before Fenris swung his sword at the frozen undead, shattering it to pieces on impact.

Upon seeing its comrade go down; one of the diminutive creatures shrieked even louder, if that was even possible. It was followed by a cluster of shrieks of different pitches off in the distance.

"It's summoning reinforcements!" Fenris roared over the shrieking as he cleaved another creature in two.

"Sounds like they're coming from behind us!" Merrill replied as she wacked a creature that managed to get past Fenris' defense and was about to attack the Dalish.

Fenris took another swing at an advancing creature; only to have the thing leap back to avoid the sword. The walking corpse then pounced on top of Fenris before he could recover and sank its rotting teeth through the leather vest and into his shoulder.

The tattooed warrior growled in pain as he grabbed the decaying child and slammed it on the ground before he plunged his sword downward into the creature's chest.

The male elf pulled his blade from the dead corpse's stomach and held it in a defensive position towards the other two rotten children. The three just stood there waiting for an opening. The two creatures had then started to circle Fenris in opposite directions. Fenris knew of this trick, if he tried to attack one then the other would attack him from behind.

Fenris quickly put his full attention to the one to his right; and as expected, the one to his left pounced in for an attack only to have Fenris spin around and slice the thing in half. The second creature then attacked as well only for Fenris to decapitate the walking corpse.

Fenris turned around to find Merrill casting a fireball down the tunnel they had just come from, the ball of flame erupting to reveal at least two dozen of the dead shrieking children running and actually _crawling_ on the walls and ceiling like children shaped spiders.

"Run!" Merrill screamed as she cast a cone of cold spell to impale three of the running corpses with icy spikes before turning and running alongside Fenris, the creatures not far behind.

The two ran with all their might, Merrill would on occasion cast a spirit bolt or chain lightning to try and slow them down. Fenris then noticed the wooden support beams along the cave walls and instantly got an idea.

"Merrill! Use Stonefist on the support beams!"

"Why!" the former Dalish First questioned as she kept running.

"So the cave will collapse on the horde!" with that Merrill cast the spell on the wooden frames as they ran by. After the fourth support beam snapped, a deafening rumble came forth and the narrow passage they resided in got filled with a suffocating cloud of dust as the torches went out.

Merrill stopped running as she coughed violently from the dust invading her lungs. Once she had managed to regain some control of her breathing she turned around and lit a fire in her hand to see the path they had just come from completely collapsed.

The Dalish mage heard ragged couching to her left. Peering through the thick cloud of dust that just wouldn't settle, Merrill managed to make out Fenris sitting up against the cave wall holding his chest with one hand and covering his mouth with the other as he continued to cough violently.

"Fenris? Are you alright?" Merrill asked in a concerned voice as she reached out to help him up; only to have the warrior swat the offered hand away.

"I don't need your help!" Fenris retorted venomously as he pulled himself up, still leaning against the wall, giving Merrill a clear view of his face. He was uniformly covered from head to toe in grime and dust, the dust clinging to his hair making it look like he had sandy tan hair instead of his regular snowy white. The bite mark he had on his left shoulder looked particularly nasty.

"We should fix your shoulder," Merrill offered as she began to reach her hand out, only to stop it as she realized her error.

Fenris simply glanced over at the wound and shrugged as he stated neutrally, "Its fine,"

"But Fen…"

"I said its fine!" Fenris interrupted as he pushed himself off the wall and stubbornly walked past her and further into the cave, not even bothering to see if Merrill was following or not.

Merrill simply released an exhausted sigh before coughing again from the dust. Once she stopped coughing she ran to catch up to Fenris.


	9. A Darkness that should not be Named

**First off, I would like to apologize for not updating in FOREVER, but I had a lot going on coupled with writers block.**

**4,151 hits, 38 reviews, 21 alerts, and 12 favorites.**

**That was the stats of this story at the time of writing this Author's Note. Now I'm quite curtain that that is low by overall fanfics standards, but I'm willing to bet that for the Fenrill population (which currently only consists of 7 with the romance genre) that that makes Vallaslin and Lyrium the third most popular fanfic of the seven Fenrill (yes I'm aware that two of them are one-shots and another is just a poorly written piece of plagiarism taken from my own story); the most popular being either my first Fenrill 'The kitten and the wolf' or katyakora's 'Anyone but you' (Which I highly recommend reading if you haven't already and you want a well written fanfic that has already reached the point where the two elves get together and beyond). So I would like to thank in no particular order: my beta-reader Hatsepsut for helping me find those mistakes despite her lack of interest in Merrill as a character, Lady red darkness for helping me by giving some incredible advice back when this story had only one chapter, and all my regular readers and reviewers who give me confidence in my writing ability that everyone but me seems to think I have.**

Chapter 9

Fenris removed one of his gauntlets and used the newly freed hand to try and wipe away some of the grime, dust, and sweat that caked his forehead. It was starting to get noticeably more humid this deep in the caverns. The male elf also started to feel a little lightheaded as his vision began to swim for a few minutes.

"Fenris are you alright?" asked a concerned Merrill, causing Fenris to regain his focus enough to lie, "I'm fine,"

"Are you sure? Cause you look a little pale," Merrill observed as she squinted her eyes at the lyrium engraved elf as though she were studying him.

"I think I would know if my own body was feeling terrible," Fenris stubbornly insisted as he stood a bit straighter to try and fool the young Dalish.

Merrill simply turned her head to face ahead, but not before eyeing Fenris' injured shoulder again, the bite mark looking particularly gruesome.

The two walked for ten minutes before they heard the lullaby again, this time much louder than before.

"We must be getting close," Merrill stated mostly to herself as they reached a bend in the tunnel. The Dalish was about to turn the corner when Fenris grabbed her shoulder to stop her in her tracks.

"What?" asked Merrill as she turned her head to look at Fenris, noticing the wounded shoulder more closely and seeing a small decaying tooth actually imbedded in his shoulder.

Fenris didn't say anything as he walked past Merrill and leaned himself against the tunnel wall to peek around the bend. He then motioned for Merrill to join him at the wall beside him. Curiosity getting the better of her; Merrill leaned around Fenris to see what he was looking at.

The bend turned to a wide open chamber that was dimly lit by torch light. In the middle of the chamber was an alter of some sort surrounded by burning candles. At the center was a stone slab with a small bundle of rags resting on it, and behind the stone slab as a woman in her mid-thirties singing the lullaby.

The woman had untidy blonde hair that ran down to her shoulders in a tangled messy, she was covered in so much grime and dust that she made Fenris and Merrill appear clean, and she wore tattered and worn robes.

The woman was wielding a dagger as she sung the lullaby to the rags, making Merrill not want to know what was in bundle. Once the woman had finished her lullaby she raised the dagger to her wrist and slit it open, blood dripping on the rags as she chanted some words that were unknown to her.

After ten seconds of dripping her blood she pulled her arm away from the rags and to Merrill's horror a crying scream came from the bundle.

The Woman's face had turned to that of extreme joy and relief as the bundle cried; lines of tears were streaking through the grime of the woman's face as she delicately picked up the bundle and shushed soothing words to whatever was in the rags peacefully as she rocked it back and forth in her arms.

"Is that…" Merrill trailed off, unable to finish her question as a lump had formed in her throat at the thought going through her head.

"This atrocity must end," Fenris muttered more to himself then to Merrill as he unsheathed his sword.

The woman tore her eyes from the bundle at the sound of the sword leaving its scabbard; her eyes shifted to blinded horror and crazed protectiveness as she clutched the crying bundle closer to her chest and shrieked incoherently, "No, No… you can't take, you can't take, too much blood for this moment for take!"

Merrill heard the sound of inhuman shrieking coming from above them as she joined herself alongside Fenris with her staff drawn; looking up she could see more of the undead creatures crawling along the walls towards them.

"MY CHILDREN, PROTECT ME!" the woman screeched as she removed a wooden staff from her back with her free hand and summoned a protective barrier around herself.

At that moment four undead creatures landed effortlessly around the two elves, poised and ready to attack.

Fenris quickly dashed forward while performing a vicious horizontal arc with his blade; managing to split one of the corpses in two and sever the arm of another. Merrill quickly summoned thick tree roots from the earth and used them to grab and toss the two that had advanced upon her; the impact on the ground had been so strong the rotting husks were shattered and torn to pieces.

Once Fenris had decapitated the one-armed corpse six more entered the fray. Two of the corpses got instantly zapped by chain lightning from Merrill as Fenris charged forward and sliced up the staggered opponents; immediately after that one of the undead, wielding a rusted dagger, pounced on Fenris with the intent of stabbing him with the weapon only for the creature to explode into pieces of leathery skin, decaying organs, and shattered bone and rain upon Fenris.

The tattooed elf glanced back at Merrill for an instant to see her with her staff raised in the direction of the now destroyed corpse. A foreign emotion started passed through the ex-slave for a faction of a second, before he put he focused his full attention back to the battle and cut another enemy in half.

Once Merrill had finished the last two creatures with a fireball Fenris charged at the crazed woman who was startled from the advancing elf and dropped her protective barrier and leaving herself open for attack.

Fenris quickly took a swing at the woman who blocked it with her staff, causing it to fly out of her grasp from the force of the blow as the woman few backwards, still clutching the now screaming bundle of rags in her arms with all her strength.

The tattooed elf then raised his sword above his head as he intended to finish the woman once and for all; then swung downward only to stop right before the blade collided with the woman's head.

Merrill watched in confusion as she watch Fenris stop his attack; then horror etched her face as Fenris stiffly turned around and stared soullessly at her with glowing red eyes, she looked past him to see the woman who was standing back up with a dagger in her side as her own eyes glowing the same crimson red as Fenris'.

"Kill the female," the two spoke in unison and Merrill realized what the blood mage had done, she had performed a blood thrall spell on Fenris.

Fenris then began an advance on her, weapon in hand, while Merrill pleaded to the male elf to stop to no effect.

Fenris swung his blade in a horizontal arc towards Merrill who quickly blocked it with her staff. Then he repeated the assault with multiple violent swings, all of which Merrill barely managed to block with her staff.

Then finally, after the twelfth swing Fenris managed to knock Merrill's staff out of her hands, quickly following up with a reverse slash at Merrill's midsection and causing a thin shallow gash to form across her stomach.

The Dalish elf fell on her side in pain as she clutched her stomach in agony, her eyes pleading up to Fenris who didn't seem to care.

_This is it,_ Merrill thought as she closed her eyes, _slain because Fenris couldn't resist a blood thrall, he probably even allowed it so he could kill me for being a blood mage._

It was then that Merrill got an idea, and quickly opened her eyes and stared intently at Fenris' own eyes as he swung downward at her only to stop at the last minute.

"I said attack!" the woman shrieked as Fenris stood perfectly still, shivering only slightly as though he was trying to fulfill the order but was stuck.

"Drop your sword," Merrill and Fenris said in unison, and after what appeared to be a great effort on his part, Fenris complied and laid his sword down next to his feet.

"I release you," the two elves spoke as Fenris collapsed to the floor in a panting heap.

"Wh…what happened?" Fenris stuttered as he tried to regain his senses.

The woman then shrieked again as she removed the dagger from her side and stabbed it in her shoulder and caused a red haze to manifest around the two elves; and within a second the two felt like their insides where on fire. Merrill then noticed that whatever blood was coming out of her wounds was boiling.

The Dalish quickly started crawling towards her staff in hopes of casting the spell off; but each and every motion took an extreme effort to perform as her blood literally boiled inside her.

Her vision began to go dark as she got closer to the staff, fear filling up her up at the possibility that she might fail. Then, she felt her hand bump into something and the moment her fingers grasped around her staff she quickly summoned the reserved strength she didn't know she had and pulled herself into a sitting position and cast a stone's fist directly at the woman. The magically summoned boulder flew through the air and collided with the crazed blood mage's face with a sickening crunch, her limp body falling to the ground.

All at once, the elves blood stopped boiling, the relief causing the two to collapses in exhaustion from their ordeal.

Merrill panted heavily as she just stared up at the rocky ceiling, the feeling of being impossibly content from surviving probably one of the tensest battles she'd ever encountered overflowing her very being.

She was soon pulled out of her dazed state by the sound of screaming; so she lifted her head to find the bundle next to the dead mage's body, the horrible sound resonating from the pile of rags. With some difficulty, Merrill managed to pull herself up and started to limp the twenty feet to the bundle. Once she reached it, Merrill reached down and moved a piece of the cloth aside and fell backwards in shock at what she found. she burst into tears only a half-second later.

The dalish was too traumatized to hear the shuffle of Fenris' feet. So she was pretty surprised when she felt a hand grab her shoulder and give her a single shake to snap her out of it; then, as quickly as it happened Fenris' hand left her shoulder. Merrill turned her head in Fenris' direction to look into his own face. Sweat from the battle had roughly cleaned his face of the dust and grime to reveal skin that was oddly pale in comparison to Fenris' usual tan from originating in Tevinter; Merrill noticed that he was clutching his injured shoulder with his hand.

"We must be rid of _it_," his voice was deathly calm and to the point, Merrill only nodded in agreement as Fenris raised his sword, the tip of the blade hovering over the bundle of filthy rags; then, in the time period of an intake of air, he brought the sword down.

At that instance, new tears ran down Merrill's face.

V

After spending hours trying to find the Dragon's Head Tavern; Hawke's group finally found the place just as the sun had set behind the rooftops, The building was an unassuming place that just sort of blended in with the rest of the buildings in the street, only a simple sign with the drawing of a bloodied dragon head served as any indication of the building being the tavern.

"This looks like the place," said Varric as they entered the tavern. The moment the doors opened the group was nearly overwhelmed by the noise and vibrant energy within the main room as almost all the patrons formed a large crowd in the middle dining area, the group cheering names and placing bets.

"What is going on here?" Anders asked in confusion.

"I don't know, but I'm willing to bet a whole sovereign that Roger has something to do with this," Varric offered.

"I'll have a piece of that action," stated Isabela before the crowd suddenly parted as a scrawny, redheaded and filthy human fell through the path that the crowd had made and landed square on his face and skidded about a half foot on said face before coming to a complete stop at Hawke's feet.

"Pay up Ravaini," Varric exclaimed as the redhead started to push himself off of the ground to look up and notice the group. His one eye that wasn't black and swollen widening once they fell upon Varric and he quickly greeted, "Tethras! It's been too long!"

"You and I have a very different opinion of too long my friend," Varric stated sarcastically as he offered a hand to help pull the guy up onto his feet.

"Where is this 'Herder' located?" Hawke quickly asked, wanting to get to the point.

"Whoa, whoa, don't you guys want to rest up or something? You've been travelling for over almost a month, I think you guys should get a hot meal and…"

Roger didn't get a chance to finish for Hawke grabbed him by the collar and pulled the contact's face to within inches of his own drawing a few questioning stares from the patrons as he hissed threateningly, "You will take us to this Slaver immediately or I will gut you like a genlock right here and now!"

"Y-you wouldn't kill me in front of all these witnesses… Would you?' Roger asked in a frightened tone as Hawke held him in his steely gaze until Anders put a hand on Hawke's shoulder to get his attention.

"What!" Hawke all but spat at Anders who removed his hand from the champion's shoulder like he had been burned by a flame.

"Hawke, calm yourself," Anders stated evenly as he met Hawke's violent gaze with one of his own.

"Merrill has been kidnapped and you what me to CALM DOWN!" Hawke roared at the healer before he yanked Roger into Anders, knocking the both on the floor, causing Sebastian to inch his hand closer to his bow while Varric and Isabela stared speechlessly for the first time in their lives.

"You don't care about her do you?" Hawke stated madly as he unsheathed his blade and held it level at his three still standing companions, who quickly unsheathed their respective weapons, along with half the tavern, while Varric pleaded, "Of course we care about Daisy, Hawke, we also care about Fenris too, it's just that we could use some rest.

"YOU…" Hawke's eyes suddenly rolled up into the back of his head as he collapsed, his sword falling from his grasp with a resounding clang.

The three rogues stared at the unconscious champion in confusion until Anders slowly pulled himself off of the ground with his staff in his right hand.

It was Varric who regained enough of his composure to speak first, "Good timing Blondie,"

"What do we do now?" asked Anders as he helped Roger get back to his own feet, his face ghostly pale and his good eye wide from the incident that had just transpired.

"I say we get some food to eat then go looking for Herder," Sebastian suggested as he walked over and tried to pick up Hawke's unconscious body and motioning for Anders to help him as he added, "but first, we're renting a room,"

V

Merrill had never been so happy to see the night sky in her life.

All she wanted to do now was leave this Creators forsaken hole in the ground that was full of nothing but nightmare after nightmare and get back to the town for their payment and some rest. She took a long deep intake of cool autumn night air, reveling in the sensation of the cold air chilling her lungs as her body heat warmed the air inside. She then exhaled to see her breath float and vanish in front of her eyes.

She quickly glanced back to make sure Fenris was still behind her. The male elf was standing near the entrance to the caverns still holding his shoulder; at that Merrill's expression grew grim. That shoulder really looked terrible, and she worried about it being infected.

"Are you sure your shoulder is fine, Fenris?" Merrill had inquired, only to get a growl from the ex-slave as he resolutely walked past her and towards the town that was five miles from their current location.

Merrill released a sigh filled with equal parts frustration and exhaustion as she fell in step with her companion.

Fenris had never felt more exhausted in his life.

His shoulder throbbed with the slightest movement and his arm was completely numb to boot. He was covered in perspiration as the nighttime autumn air chilled the clinging sweat to near unbearable levels, it caused him to have to fight the constant need to shiver. But he didn't give in to the pain, his whole life was nothing but pain and this was no different in his opinion.

Fenris stared at Merrill who had managed to get ahead of him again as they walked through the forest, her form illuminated by the moonlight. He was, for the first time since meeting the naïve Dalish, impressed with her abilities; even if they were magic abilities, she had managed to break him out of the blood thrall spell and fight the paralyzing effects of the hemorrhage spell to kill that insane woman.

Fenris suddenly shook his head to get rid of his thoughts, the act causing a splitting headache to form. His vision suddenly went swimming like before and the last thing he remembered was is his face colliding with the dirt.

Merrill quickly turned around upon hearing a thud from behind her; only to find Fenris' body laying face down on the ground.

"Fenris!" Merrill screamed as she ran over and knelt before the now unconscious elf. The Dalish quickly turned him over onto his back and shook him trying to get him to wake up.

No response.

Merrill tried to remember what Anders did when someone was passed out and quickly put her fingers to Fenris' neck to try and find a pulse; relief spread across her face as she managed to find it, it was faint, but it was there. Merrill then started to think of what to do, they were all alone in the forest with no one around to help, and the town was about five miles away so trying to carry him was out of the question, if she could even pick him up that is. They had no health poultices and she wasn't a healer, she didn't even know the basics of spirit healing.

Merrill figured that the first thing she should do was try and clean his wound. So she started to unravel her scarf that was still around Fenris' neck from using it earlier to hide his Lyrium markings while in town. She then reached into her travelling bag to pull out the water canteen she had purchased that morning; she had taken the precaution to fill it up with water before heading out to find the killer.

She uncorked the canteen cap and poured some of its contents on the scarf to dampen it. Merrill then wringed it out and began cleaning the wound with the cloth.

The moment Merrill touched the decaying tooth that was still imbedded in his shoulder she grabbed hold of it and pulled it out, Fenris gave a weak grunt as the old bone came out. Merrill looked at Fenris' face to see his eyebrows pull together as he felt the pain, then his face suddenly relaxed as the pain subsided.

Merrill then poured some more of the water from the canteen directly onto Fenris' shoulder, causing the unconscious elf to give out a weak gasp.

After finishing up Merrill leaned back trying to think of what more she could actually do. The elven mage suddenly remembered how Keeper Marethari had taught her the many ways to use elfroot to help heal sicknesses without having to make it into a potion; she just had to find some.

Merrill looked around hoping to find the distinctive plant to no avail; she then placed her arms underneath Fenris' armpits and dragged him to a nearby fallen tree and rested his head and shoulders against the trunk. Reaching into the travel sack, Merrill pull out the hooded cloak she had borrowed from the farmers and laid it over her companion; she then travelled out into the woods to search for the elfroot.


	10. Strange Thought and Stranger Revelations

**First, to all my American readers: happy Fourth of July. Yea I know I'm three days late and that there are a tone of you guys who don't live in America but I just had to say it.**

**Man, nine days ago I finally managed to upload Chapter Nine after a month of writer's block. Now, I'm giving you Chapter ten.**

**And that is an achievement in of itself; to finally reach the double digits in the number of chapters, so I thought I'd do something special for you guys and gals, by giving ONE of the biggest revelations in the story PLUS a side romance blooming as well as the longest chapter YET.**

**Due pay attention to the words I capitalized.**

**Now without further delay, here is chapter Ten of Vallaslin and Lyrium, do enjoy AND REVIEW!**

**Update:**** Due to a review from Lady Red Darkness (My unofficial chief advisor in my story) and needed fluidity in the Romance development, I've changed the strange thoughts that Fenris has about Merrill from something less sexual.**

Chapter 10

Several hours later, Fenris woke to the smell of burning leaves and wood. After much difficulty he managed to open his eyes a crack; all he could make out was something orange in front of him.

Opening his eyes further Fenris could see more detail and found himself staring at a campfire five feet away from him.

Fenris looked around trying to find Merrill, knowing that she likely wasn't far away. He noticed that it was nearing midnight if the moon was any indication, and that he was still in the forest.

Upon finding no trace of Merrill, Fenris decided to go in search of the Dalish mage; the moment he started to move he found that a cloak was covering his body to keep him warm. He removed the cloak and found himself missing his shirt and leather vest. It was then that Fenris remembered his bitten shoulder and looked over to find it bandaged with Merrill's scarf, with some chewed up leaves sticking out from under the cloth which Fenris deduced was elfroot.

Looking around Fenris managed to find his shirt and vest resting on the fallen log that he had been resting his head on and pulled on his shirt, not bothering with the vest thinking he wouldn't need it. He headed out in search of his companion by picking a random direction and heading out.

It wasn't long before Fenris started to hear a quiet series of sounds coming from his left so he turned and followed the noise. As he did so he started to notice that it was some kind of song. The thought instantly made him think of that crazed blood mage in the caves and he suppressed a shiver; though he soon noticed that while that song had been haunting in its peaceful notes, this one was strangely calming and full of sorrow.

Fenris soon found himself at the edge of a clearing where he discovered the source of the singing: Merrill.

Fenris remained perfectly still as he watched her from behind some shrubbery, observing how she was kneeling and using that knife of hers to dig in the ground. Once she had made a deep enough hole she placed something Fenris couldn't see from where he sat and noticed that Merrill began singing again as she started refilling the hole, the lyrics foreign to Fenris' ears but also hauntingly beautiful as well.

"_Hahren na melana sahlin  
>emma ir abelas<br>souver'inan isala hamin  
>vhenan him dor'felas<br>in uthenera na revas"_

Fenris was struck at how perfectly her voice flowed through the words, her accent complementing the syllables so well that Fenris instantly knew without a doubt that she was speaking in Elvish.

"_Vir sulahn'nehn  
>vir dirthera<br>vir samahl la numin  
>vir lath sa'vunin"<em>

Once Merrill finished the verse she stood up and moved a little to the right of where she was and knelt down to begin digging again.

Five times Merrill repeated this process, completely oblivious to the Fenris' observation as the ex-slave watched from the cover of the shrubbery. Each time Fenris stood completely still as he lost himself in her repetition of the elven song.

The moment Merrill finished her ritual Fenris finally became aware of himself and quickly but silently headed back to camp.

V

Once Merrill had finally finished her burial ritual she stood up and admired her work. She had buried all twenty of the apple seeds she had collected earlier that day and had given an elven eulogy for each of them.

Merrill knew that there had been many more elven slaves on that ship, but she'd to make do with what she had. She then began her trek back to the camp to check up on Fenris.

She turned and sheathed her dagger as she thought about all those innocent elves, how she was certain that they were truly at peace now and forever in the afterlife under Falon'din's protection from the dread wolf.

The moment she reached the campsite she went straight to Fenris who was exactly where she had left him, passed out with his head on the log. She figured now was time to change his bandages and removed the cloak. A confused expression manifested on Merrill's face as she found the shirt she had taken off back on Fenris.

A knowing smile formed on her lips and she repositioned the cloak and walked over to the other side of the campfire before finding sleep.

V

The moment Hawke started to regain consciousness he became aware of several things at once.

For starters, he was tied to a bedpost, second was the unmistakable sound of Anders whispering to himself somewhere off to the champion's right, and third was the stench of alcohol.

Hawke opened his eyes slowly to find himself indeed tied to a queen-sized bed in a room, a suite by the looks of it, and he found Anders to his right rereading his manifesto in a small whisper as he sat on a stool next to the bed, a second stool not far from him.

Hawke coughed to get Anders attention. The plan seemed to have worked given that he nearly fell out of the stool.

"H-Hawke, I didn't see you wake up," Anders quickly answered as he regained his composure.

"What happened?" Hawke asked dryly, getting straight to the point.

"Well for starters, I had to knock you out with a sleep spell before you gutted anyone," Anders stated with a hint of venom in his voice, his expression a mask of collected anger.

Hawke held his head at the statement, realization of what he had nearly done dawning on him. The anger he had felt was blinding, he had actually felt like he wanted… no, _needed_ to kill his companions to find Merrill.

After a moment of heavy silence Hawke asked the question that had been bothering him, "What's wrong with me?"

"My honest opinion? You're crazy obsessed," Anders stated professionally as he started reorganizing his manifesto by tapping the bottom of the pages on his lap.

"I'm in love with her, Anders," Hawke insisted plainly as though that explained everything.

"Yea, you told me that already," Anders reminded as he stuffed the papers into his robes before adding, "but that doesn't excuse the fact that you drew a sword on the rest of us,"

"Speaking of which, where is everyone?"

"Varric is downstairs grabbing some drinks while Sebastian and Bela are going with Roger to go find this 'Herder' guy,"

"They went without me!?" Hawke bellowed as he pulled against his restraints.

"Well yea, we kind of figured that you would kill the slaver the moment you laid eyes on him, and we need him alive to actually get any information out of him," Anders explained.

Hawke lowered his head in guilty admittance, then he raised his head up in realization of something that Anders had recently said, "Did you just call Isabela, Bela?"

At that Anders face turned the color of a health poultice at realizing his slip of the tongue before saying hastily, "No I didn't,"

"Oh, Anders…" Hawke stated in a mixture of shock and sympathy, a smile creeping up his face, "You are aware that it was a one-time thing, right?"

"Actually, it was more like a dozen-time thing," Anders stated like a child with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Hawke stared at Anders in total disbelief for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. It felt good to laugh for once, seeing as he'd been all serious and depressed for the past month since Merrill and Fenris had been captured, it just felt like a weight coming off of his shoulders.

"Care to explain why Hawke is laughing like a madman, Blondie?" Hawke stopped his laughter to find Varric standing at the doorway holding two mugs of ale.

V

Isabela motioned for Sebastian to stay where he was as she leaned against the wall in the dark alley that they occupied. She quickly peaked around the corner to find two guards standing watch in front an inconspicuous wooden door.

Roger had led them to the docking district, one of the older areas of the city that ran along the shore of the Minanter. The district primarily comprised of warehouses for shipments that came in by boat or ship. The redheaded contact showed them the city block where 'Herder' was known to have a base of operations at, but he knew nothing more so he had left them to go searching for the slaver themselves.

It had taken them fifteen minutes of searching until they found the slaver guards at the door in the alcove within the alleyway.

"How are we to get in without raising an alarm?" asked Sebastian from behind Isabela as the pirate thought about that very same question.

"I could try and get up there," the slattern offered as she pointed up at the roof of the building.

"And how are you supposed to get up there?" Sebastian questioned further; only to get his answer by watching Isabela begin climbing the wall by placing her hands and feet in little holes in the stone wall that formed from decades of erosion.

Enjoying the view, Handsome?" Isabela inquired lewdly as she reached the top, causing Sebastian to quickly look away and at some old barrels.

A minute after Isabela reached the roof and disappeared out of sight, Sebastian heard the sound of heavy metal hitting the cobblestone ground. He quickly turned the corner to find Isabela atop the two guards who now lay dead on the ground.

"Got the key," the pirate mused as she twirled said key around her pinky finger. Sebastian simply shook his head in bewilderment as he followed Isabela inside.

Once the two rogues entered the warehouse they quickly ran and knelt behind some crates to avoid detection as they listened in on a group of four slavers who were conversing in the middle of the giant room they now occupied.

"What do you mean Leotok was 'delayed'!?" one of the slavers- who had short black hair, a pointed nose and his left arm in a sling- bellowed as he pointed an accusatory finger with his good hand at one of the other slavers. The man held his head in shame and embarrassment.

"Quite simply that Herder, Leotok has delayed," another slaver pointed out.

"Yea, I got that much, but would someone care to explain as to why one of the most efficient slaver gang leaders in the entire Imperium get delayed!?"

"Well you see…"

The slaver didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as an arrow flew into the side of his throat. The next thing that the remaining slavers knew was that they were being blinded by obscuring and suffocating black smoke.

By the time Herder could see again he was facing the tip of an arrow pointed directly at his eye as he felt something thin and long against his throat. He quickly looked around only to find the other slavers with their throats slit.

"Herder, I presume?" spoke a female voice from behind him as he stared wide eyed at the man with electric blue eyes and the longbow in his hand.

"Who wants to know?"

"Someone who has had their friends taken by one of the slaver gangs who give you the slaves you process, so start talking," the man with the longbow pointed out as he drew back his arrow a little further.

"Yea? And what makes you think you can make me talk?" Herder countered.

"We _know_ you are going to talk because we're going to take you to someone who has been dying to meet you," the woman explained.

V

Varric flinched at the sickening sound that rebounded from Hawke's fist colliding with Herder's face for the twentieth time in the past minute. Isabela and Sebastian had managed to drag in the slaver a quarter of an hour ago and Hawke had gone to town with their prisoner's face the moment they had tied him to the chair he now sat in.

Hawke gripped the man's blood soaked jaw in his hand to bring him face to face with the champion with his one good eye while he asked again, "I'll ask one more time, where are the slavers that captured an ex-Tevinter slave and a Dalish elf?"

"I told you, I don't know where they are," Herder pleaded through half breaths. Hawke quickly raised his free fist about ready to hit him when Herder quickly yelled in a panicked tone, "please, just let me explain _why_ I don't know where they are!"

Hawke lowered his fist and released his grip on Herder's jaw as he waited for his explanation.

Herder took a few deep breaths to calm himself before spitting out a bloodied tooth on the floor of the suite they currently occupied before saying, "They never reached me, the slavers you're looking for I mean,"

"What are you talking about?" Anders piped in, "That one large slaver at the fishing village said that they were halfway here, that was four days ago,"

Without warning Hawke removed his razor sharp knife from his boot and stabbed it into Herder's broken arm. The slaver released a howling cry before quickly blurting out incoherently from the pain, "Ship… sank, cause revolt from slaves, Leotok… trying to… recapture the elves since!"

"Who is this 'Leotok?" Hawke hissed as he twisted the dagger, still imbedded in Herder's arm.

"Aaargghh… He's… best slaver… in Tevint(gasp) always provides best… _quality_," Herder grunted through clenched teeth as he twisted his arm in a feeble attempt to free the appendage from the dagger; only to cause more damaged and pain.

"And how are we to find them?" asked Hawke as he reached for the dagger again, only to have Herder quickly start talking before he could touch the weapon, "He said something about being in a farming town, I can point it out on a map!"

Hawke quickly turned to the pirate, "Isabela, go get a map of the Minanter," he then turned his attention back to Herder, "If you're lying to us-"

"I'm not!"

"You better hope not, because it would be the last mistake you've ever make," Hawke threatened.

V

The next morning Fenris awoke to the sight of Merrill cooking what appeared to be a rabbit over the campfire. He raised his hand to his head to find that it wasn't numb; the Lyrium engraved elf glanced at his shoulder which didn't hurt anymore. He removed his shirt and then Merrill's scarf that was still wrapped around his shoulder to find the wound almost completely healed.

"Oh, you're up, I'm making breakfast, or at least I think I am," Fenris turned his head towards Merrill as she gave a reassuring smile his way. Not sure of how to react, Fenris simply gave a quick nod as he started to put his shirt back on.

"How long have I been out?" Fenris asked as he reached for his leather vest.

"Just about the rest of the night," Merrill stated as she continued to tend to the rabbit, which Fenris noticed that it was a little too close to the fire.

Fenris walked over and sat down next to Merrill before he reached out for the stick that the rabbit was skewered on as he said, "Let me see that,"

"No thanks, I think I got it," Merrill insisted but Fenris just grabbed the stick. His hand grazed Merrill's and he pulled his own back from the contact; the motion so quick that it startled Merrill and she dropped the rabbit into the fire.

"Oh, Fenris I'm so sorry," Merrill apologized sadly as she watched the fire consume the rabbit.

"No need to apologize, the fault was mine," Fenris pointed out sincerely as he looked at his hand. Life as a slave had made him reluctant to touch anyone because one of Danarius' regular torture techniques was to simply touch him on his lyrium markings and cause him pain. While he knew that it was actually Danarius' magic that he had purposely sent through his markings that had actually caused the pain he'd felt, the psychological damage from the torture had made him flinch on any contact even if there wasn't any pain. If he initiated the contact on purpose it would only cause his hand to shake uncontrollable, but if it was unintended and he wasn't prepared for it he would react like he had been burned by a flame.

"Well, we can always have some fruit to eat," Merrill offered as she walked over to the sack that rested on the log Fenris was sleeping against earlier.

Merrill produced two fruit and tossed one to Fenris who effortlessly grabbed it and bit into the it's flesh.

"Thanks," Fenris said between mouthfuls of fruit.

"Oh, well you're welcome, but it's just fruit," Merrill stated.

"No, I mean thank you for healing me last night, it was… kind of you," Fenris elaborated awkwardly.

"It was nothing Fenris, I mean, I know you don't like me and that I annoy you, but we're in this together, we need to look out for each other," Merrill explained as she started to break camp, leaving Fenris to his thoughts. It was no secret that he loathed Merrill and had insulted her every chance he got; but she had healed him despite that.

He took another bite of the fruit Merrill had tossed him and helped the Dalish break camp. Once the fire was put out by a frost spell from Merrill and Fenris made sure that everything was in order they headed out to town.

"What are we to do once we reach the town again?" Merrill inquired as they exited the forest and into the open fields that surrounded the town she spoke of.

"I say we both take a bath," Merrill gave Fenris a questioning look for a moment until Fenris realized what he has said.

"At separate times of course," the male elf elaborated as they continued on towards the town.

V

Fenris had never been so happy to have a warm bath in his life.

The water not only seemed to wash away the sweat, grime, blood, and dust that had accumulated from those caverns; but also weeks of stress.

The bath had been for free since he was getting it at the tavern where he taken care of that brute. So that only made things better.

He had finished washing himself not two minutes ago, and since Merrill was the first one to take a bath, he had no real incentive to get out. So he just relaxed and allowed himself to doze off into that twilight between consciousness and sleep, allowing his mind to wonder aimlessly.

"_Hahren na melana sahlin  
>emma ir abelas<br>souver'inan isala hamin  
>vhenan him dor'felas<br>in uthenera na revas"_

Fenris wakes up with a jolt; he quickly banished the thoughts that had invaded his mind to some dark corner where they couldn't be witnessed. His breathing irregular as he tries to calm down from his panic attack.

_By the Maker, what was that?_ Fenris thought as he quickly pulled himself out of the bath tub and grabbed a towel to dry himself.

Once he finished drying and getting dressed he walked out of the bathroom and into the main part of the room that he and Merrill shared to find the Dalish who was sitting on the edge of the bed. Upon noticing him walk out she gave a smile his way.

"You look nice and clean now," she pointed out only to have Fenris avoid her gaze as he strapped on his sword and started to walk out; stopping only long enough at the doorway to inform the Dalish that he was going to the chantry to collect their pay before closing the door behind him as he left.

As he made his way down the stairs to the main room of the tavern, he tried to occupy his mind with other things; like what he was going to buy with the reward money. They needed a map first and foremost. They would also need bedrolls to sleep in when they weren't anywhere near a town with a tavern.

Soon Fenris could only think about supplies and nothing about those weird thoughts that had invaded his mind earlier, as he made his way out into the street and towards the chantry.

V

As Fenris was about halfway to the chantry. He looked over to his left as part of the crowd gave way he noticed Fredrick, the big bloke that the elf had got in a fight with at the tavern.

Being able to sense any suspicious activity thanks to years of being Danarius' bodyguard; Fenris decided to follow the large human, weaving in and out of the crowd so as to avoid being detected.

After two minutes of stalking, Fredrick had then turned down a shaded alleyway between two buildings. Fenris then got to a bench next to the alleyway and took a seat, as he listened carefully to any bits of conversation he could pick up.

"This is only half the gold you promised," Fenris could hear Fredrick speaking, the human having gone to the local healer to get his jaw relocated would account for that.

"You will get the rest of your coin when we see for ourselves that the elves you mentioned are the ones we're looking for," an unfamiliar voice told Fredrick, Fenris concluded that it was likely one of the slavers that are looking for him and Merrill.

"Oh it's them alright, besides, if they aren't, you got some new slaves anyway, and the way the male fought it was like he was some Qunari warrior or something, and the Female's mighty pretty, and should sell for an equally pretty sovereign," for some reason Fenris noticed his anger boiling at the slavers mentioning Merrill. Fueled by rage the elf quickly whipped around the corner of the alleyway, unsheathed his sword and skewered the first person he saw.

The slaver Fenris stabbed screamed in pain as the elf took into account his opposition: two other slavers, one with a crossbow he was currently pulling off of his back, and the other had with a shield and sword, plus Fredrick who carried a claymore on his back that he was also in the process of unsheathing.

Fenris quickly ripped his sword out from the dead slaver's back and charged forward at the crossbow wielding slaver, thrusting his weapon out in the process and stabbing the criminal in the abdomen.

With quick reflexes honed from years of training, Fenris dodged Fredrick and the last slavers simultaneous strikes and swung out only to hit the slaver's shield.

Fenris quickly did a spirit pulse and unleashed a wave of lyrium energy at his opponents to stagger them. He then swiftly swung his sword and decapitated the last slaver, leaving only him and Fredrick.

"You! You embarrassed me! Now I'm going to kill you!" Fredrick proclaimed as he swung outward at Fenris who quickly parried it before throwing in a strike of his own only to have it blocked.

The two continued their fight for a good three minutes as they struck and blocked each other's strikes. Fenris had to commend Fredrick on his ability to use such a large weapon in a small tight space to such great effect.

After as series of strikes from Fredrick, Fenris' guard faltered and he had to phase through the sword to avoid death. He brute dropped his guard, and his weapon, at the discovery of his opponent's abilities and the elf took advantage of his surprise by punching through his chest and ripping his heart out before crushing it before the human's dying eyes.

Realizing that their location was discovered; Fenris quickly ran back to the tavern to go get Merrill and leave the town before the slavers found them.

V

Merrill was just eating lunch in her room when she smelled smoke, so she quickly grabbed her staff and supplies before running out the door to find the hallway completely filled with the hazardous gas.

"Thakhor? Fenris?" the Dalish cried out as she made her way down the stairs only to find the main room completely ablaze. In the middle were three slavers, one of which held Thakhor above the ground.

Merrill released a quick shriek from the shock she was feeling, getting the slavers attention and causing the one holding Thakhor to slit the Dwarf's throat and toss his body in one of the fires before beginning an advance on her.

Wasting n o time, the Dalish immediately cast of a frost spell to freeze a slaver solid, quickly followed by a stone fist to shatter the criminal to pieces. She then began to cast a chain lightning only to have one of the slavers knock her staff aside then grab her by the shoulder and shove her the rest of the way down the stairs, hitting her head on the final step as she tumbled down.

As her vision blurred she noticed the two slavers standing over her. The sight was hauntingly similar to when she was first captured almost three weeks ago.

"Here's one of them, but where's the other?" she vaguely heard one of them say. The next thing that Merrill knew was a blur of white and blue and the two slavers laying dead, one with a torn out throat and the other with a hole in his chest.

"Merrill, get up!" Once Merrill's vision finally started working again she found Fenris kneeling besides her.

"F-Fenris? How did you get in here?" she asked as she pulled herself up and began looking for her staff.

"The backdoor was opened, there are slavers out front," Fenris explained as he handed Merrill her staff, "we have better get out of here now!"

Not wanting to stay in this place anymore, Merrill quickly followed Fenris to the back of the bar only for part of the ceiling to collapse and block their escape route.

"This way!" Fenris yelled as he kicked the front door open so he and Merrill quickly ran out into the street, only to be surrounded by twenty slavers, swords drawn and pointed at them in a semi-circle wall of sharp steel.

The afternoon air was thick with smoke and tension, only the sound of the crackling and roaring blaze that used to be the Inn could be heard, until the sound of slow clapping pierced though the crowd. A tall man walked past the slavers, the orange glow of the fire revealing his scarred face and throat from under this large brimmed hat. The handles of his bastard swords were visible from behind his shoulders as he walked towards then, clapping sarcastically.

"I think congratulations are in order," the tall slaver proclaimed in a distorted and gravelly voice, "for few manage to escape my slavers and elude them for four days, I can see why Danarius is quite fond of you Fenris," The ex-slave simply bared his teeth as the tall slaver then looked over to Merrill, "And you, youngling, are exceptionally skilled in the arcane arts, perhaps Danarius will pay handsomely for his new apprentice."

"I would NEVER serve a man so vile," Merrill proclaimed but the slaver simply chuckled darkly.

"You don't have to serve willingly; it would only take a simple blood thrall spell to turn you," the slaver pointed out before saying, "now, I'll say this once: surrender and come quietly, or not, and have my associates detain you,"

"I think we all know our choice you Maker forsaken creep!" Fenris replied venomously.

"The name's Leotok," the tall scarred slaver pointed out, he then turned to his slavers, "Take care of them,"

At that moment Merrill raised her staff to the sky and released a bolt of lightning into the air, causing a series of lightning bolts to crash into a majority of the slavers.

At that same moment, Leotok charged forward with near inhuman speed and agility to slash out one of his bastard swords at Fenris with one hand. The ex-slave barely managed to block it with his sword. The slaver gang leader then spun around and brought out his other bastard sword and attempted to cleave Fenris in two; and he would have, had the elf not leapt back.

Leotok then unceremoniously kicked Fenris in the chest and sent him back into the burning tavern before following the elf in himself.

"Fenris!" Merrill called to her companion before quickly running back in there.

It was even worse than before as Merrill searched feverously for the any sign of Fenris to no avail.

"Ah, there's my Princess," the hair on the back of Merrill's neck stood on end at the hissing sound of the one person she never wanted to see again.

Merrill quickly turned around to find Wendell and two other slavers standing right behind him.

"Wendell," Merrill spoke with a great sense of horror in her voice.

"She remembered my name," Wendell hissed as he glanced back at the other slavers and proclaimed with a toothy smile, "I think I'm in love,"

At the sound of that Merrill quickly shot a fireball at one of the slavers and lighting him on fire as he screamed in agony.

"Get her!" Wendell ordered at the other slaver who charged forward only to get shocked by a bolt of lightning.

Wendell quickly charged forward and managed to catch the Dalish off guard and knocked her staff away with a swing of his sword. He then kicked her to the ground.

"You know? It isn't easy to lie and keep a secret from the boss," Wendell ranted as he started walking slowly towards the elf that had started scooting away.

"Cause if he found out what me and Eddie were intending to do to you, and that it led to you and those other knife-ears to get away, well, he'd torture me in ways that I can't even imagine," he then knelt down besides Merrill when she had trapped herself in a corner filled with burning wood support beams that had fallen down, "And believe me, I can get pretty creative with the torture methods,"

It was at that moment that Merrill had wrapped her hands around a burning piece of wood, ignoring the burning pain that engulfed her hands, and wacked Wendell in the face with the burning wood, sending him sprawling to the floor as he clutched his face in agony.

Merrill quickly brought herself up and continued her search for Fenris.

V

Fenris had never encountered such a formidable foe until today; for he had to use every ounce of his training and skill just to block Leotok's attacks.

He parried left, then right, and then ducked to avoid a decapitation. Soon after that he finally managed to find an opening and swung with all his strength to knock one of the slaver's swords out of his hands, sending it skidding into the flames, making it impossible to recover now.

"You're talented Fenris, I'll give you that," Leotok pointed out as he continued his assault.

Fenris remained completely silent as he concentrated solely on blocking, trying to find an opening.

Then after another quick strike from his sword Leotok took a swing of his fist and punched Fenris in the face when his guard was down from the strike, knocking Fenris back. Completely defenseless Fenris had to dodge and leap to avoid being hit.

Then after successfully dodging another swing, Fenris threw all caution to the wind and charged into Leotok and knocked him to the ground. He quickly kicked the slaver's other sword into another fire before looming of the slaver leader, murder intent in his eye as he reached down to phase his hand through his chest and crush his heart.

Only to simply punch the man in the chest.

Fenris' expression turned to that of shock and terror as he tried to phase through the man again to no avail as the slaver chuckled darkly.

"Wha-what are you?" Fenris stuttered with more fear then he'd ever felt in his life.

Leotok calmly pulled himself off of the floor before saying ominously, "The very embodiment of all your nightmares, Fenris,"

He then landed a quick punch to the elf's face, knocking him out.

_**Author's Note:**_

**Let the conspiracy theories about Leotok's abilities commence in the reviews.**


	11. Frying Pan to Fire

**Under normal circumstances I would probably be apologizing to my fans for not updating in so long and throw in a little cheap humor that nobody laughs at. But not this time, for I don't much have the stomach for it.**

**For my thoughts are not focused on this story and trying to satisfy my devoted fans right now, but are instead focused on two poor souls; one of them a beautiful baby girl that never got the pleasure of even drawing a breath, and her mother.**

**The grieving mother in question is my dear friend and devoted beta Hatsepsut, and with that being said; I would like to dedicate my entire story to her and her precious baby girl.**

**I think it should go without saying that this chapter is un-beta-ed. **

Chapter 11

The heat of the flames was becoming unbearable for Merrill, but she continued to search none the less; for she was determined to find Fenris and get out before she encountered more slavers.

She tried suppressing a painful cough as she lowered her head to try and avoid the thickening smoke that threatened to suffocate her.

Once Merrill turned around a collapsed piece of the ceiling that blocked her view she found the Slaver gang leader carrying Fenris over his shoulders. Luckily Leotok didn't notice the Dalish peaking around the rubble so Merrill quickly whipped around the burning pile of wood and casted a stone's fist before the slaver even registered her presence. The boulder hit him square in the chest with such force that it sent him flying to the wall ten feet behind him as a part of the ceiling collapsed near him, blocking him from Merrill's sight.

Fenris' unconscious form had landed five feet from where Leotok had landed. Merrill quickly ran over and started shaking him to wake up.

"Fenris!?" Merrill pleaded as she continued to shake him to no avail. She looked over and noticed the flames creeping closer to them and she shot a frost spell to try and delay their advance.

Merrill, running out of options, quickly slapped the unconscious elf hard across the face in a desperate attempt to wake him up. To her relief, it worked as he awoke with jolt. He came to a sitting position almost instantly and nearly head butted Merrill had the dalish not react quick enough to get out of the way.

"Fenris, we need to get out of here now!" Merrill pleaded before Fenris could take in his surroundings and began tugging on his arm to get him to stand.

Finally remembering where we was; Fenris quickly stood up and followed the Dalish through the burning building in a desperate attempt to find a way out.

Finding a window, Merrill cast a spirit bolt to break the glass so the two elves could jump through it.

Once the two elves escaped the building they found themselves in the side alleyway between the Tavern and the building next to it. Fenris quickly pulled Merrill to the wall and put his index finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet as they sneaked to the end of the alley before peaking around the corner to get a look at the slavers to see if there was a way out.

The slavers were grouped around the front of the Tavern; swords drawn as some would go brave the smoke. Some of the slavers even had to be dragged out of the building by another as the toxic cloud consumed their lungs.

Merrill watched as the tall slaver named Leotok emerged out of the fire. Shortly after that she felt a nudge on her shoulder and turned to look at Fenris as he whispered hastily, "we need to leave, now,"

Even though it was in a whisper, Merrill couldn't help but notice the urgent tone that was unlike Fenris as he said it. It was like he was in a hurry to get to a destination, or get out of **this** place as soon as possible.

The two elves moved swiftly and silently towards the other end of the alley and entered the other street behind the tavern. They then turned left and made their way towards the town's main gate to try and escape.

"Fenris, what are we going to do once we get out of here?" Merrill asked as they turned another street to find themselves in the market area by the gate. The place was filled with people, most of them occupied with staring at the column of smoke from the tavern.

"Once we get out of town we will hide in the wheat fields until dusk, then make our way south," Fenris said as he shoved his way through the townsfolk with Merrill right on his heels while the shoved people were throwing various obscenities at the elves.

"Hey, you two elves, stop right there!" Fenris heard a man's voice come from behind him. He turned his head to find not a slaver, but a local town guard chasing after them. It took Fenris a second to realize why the guard was chasing him and Merrill; for the two elves were covered in ash and soot. To a guard whose town was on fire, two running elves covered in ashes would look like prime suspects to him.

"Keep running!" Fenris yelled at Merrill as he doubled his efforts to reach the gate.

Once Fenris and Merrill got through the crowd they found the gate opened with four guards armed with short swords and shields forming a wall of sharp steel; the chances of them getting through without injury was slim to none.

"Merrill, non-lethally get those guards out of the way!" Fenris ordered, which got the Dalish elf to cast a horror spell on the guards. Whatever vision the guards were experiencing caused them to drop their weapons and flee for the lives like a dragon was on their tails.

Without slowing down the elves ran through the gates and onto the road. They soon ran off of the road and into the wheat fields, the crop being tall enough for them to hide in and not get spotted.

After getting deep into the maze of wheat; the two elves finally took a breather and nearly collapsed from exhaustion from running none stop for five minutes.

Merrill turned her head skyward to look at the tower of smoke that rose from the south of where they currently stood. Guilt started to overflow her mind at the image of Thakhor getting his throat slit. Why did the slavers even kill him? Was he in their way? Did they interrogate him about their location, only to have him resist for their sake? Or was it just to fulfill some crazed bloodlust that the slaver was feeling at the time and the kind dwarf just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? The thought of never knowing the reason for the senseless death of the kind innkeeper that offered them a free room was near overwhelming.

"What do we do now?" asked Merrill as she turned her head to look at her fellow elf.

"We wait here until sundown, and then we get as far away from those slavers as possible," Fenris stated with a hint of desperation in his voice that caught Merrill off guard. For the six years she has known him and he has always managed to remain strong willed, and unbreakable force that she had come to rely on whenever they get into a situation. He was always calm and collected when making a decision, a talent she assumes came from three years on the run from his master with no one to help him. But now he seemed almost scared. It was well masked, but still visible, the way his eyes seemed wider than normal told her that he was spooked by something.

"Are you okay Fenris?" asked Merrill out of concern.

"I'm fine," Fenris quickly responded.

"Are you sure? You look kind of spooked,"

"I said I'm fine!" Fenris snapped violently, causing Merrill to flinch out of fear of being attacked.

Fenris noticed Merrill flinching and instantly felt regret for having snapped. He then looked at her eyes, seeing the green orbs showing concern and his regret instantly vanished. It always angered him when someone thought that he needed to be looked after like some lost child. He had spent the first three of his nine years of freedom on the run with no one to rely on but himself, he didn't need looking after.

The rhythmic sound of boots hitting the ground him to quickly motion for Merrill to follow him; his anger temporarily subsided by survival instincts telling him to hide from the source of the footsteps, regardless if they were the slavers of guards.

After travelling a little ways down the rows of wheat they quickly lowered themselves on the ground to hide when they realized that out running their pursuers wasn't an option. They remained perfectly still as a group of guards off to their left ran right past them without noticing the two elves.

After fifteen minutes of waiting to make sure that they wouldn't be spotted; Fenris and Merrill brought themselves up and proceeded to make their way through the wheat field and into the woods in an attempt to reach home.

V

"Fenris?" the ex-slave stopped his running through the forest to turn around and look at the clearly exhausted dalish at the sound of her voice, the sound causing a calming feeling to flow through him, but it quick died down as he responded to her question, "yes what is it?"

"Can we take a break, we've been running for five hours straight, and my legs feel like they're about to fall of, well not literally of course, that would be really bad if they did, and I'm babbling again, I'll stop now," Merrill stumbled over her words as she explained her exhaustion from running and strangely Fenris didn't interrupt her, he simply let her finish before answering.

"I supposed we could take a break, it is getting dark anyhow, so we should set up camp," Fenris explained with a sigh, Merrill didn't have the same stamina that he had from his years of living on the run. In fact he was impressed that she had managed to keep up with him for five hours before complaining. Fenris quickly deduced that it must have been adrenaline that kept her going for so long.

The two started searching for a good place to set up camp, they eventually settled at a ravine caused by a gently flowing stream, as it provided cover from any line of sight unless their pursuers where right on top of them, not to mention the running water was an adding benefit.

As Fenris started to gather some dry leaves and fallen sticks and twigs to start a fire he heard Merrill cursing in Elvish as though she were in pain. Upon turning around he found her sorting through her travel sack with her face twisted in agony.

"What's wrong?" Fenris inquired as he walked over to check up on her.

"Elgar'nan, I burned my hands in that tavern when Wendell attacked me, and I can't get to the salve to treat the burns with these hands," Merrill all but whined as she tried desperately to search through the travel sack.

"Here, let me handle that," Fenris offered as he took the sack from Merrill and began searching through the meager possessions that the two shared for their travels; mostly their original clothing, about two days worth of food, a flint stone, and a small vial of a white, viscous, liquid that Fenris assumed was the ointment that Merrill needed.

"I think I found it," Fenris stated as he pulled out the vial in question.

"Yes, that's it, now you just have to rub it on my hands; I'd do it myself, but…" Merrill didn't finish as she raised her hands, and Fenris nearly winced at the poor condition that her hands were in. The palms and insides of her fingers were completely covered in angry red blisters that swelled her hands to a painful state, and almost all of the blisters on her right hand were ruptured, likely from the time she had to slap him across the face real hard to wake him up. Fenris vaguely wondered how she was even able to hold the travel sack in her hands given the terrible state that they were in.

"Maker's breathe, what did you do to your hands!?" Fenris exclaimed as he observed the injured appendages.

"I had to grab a flaming log to hit Wendell in the face to get him away," Merrill stated solemnly as she stared at her hands, "It seemed like the only option at the time,"

"Well here, let me see," Fenris offered as he removed his gauntlets for better use of his hands. He then gently took her left wrist in his hand as he started to pour the salve on her hand; then as gently as he could muster, he started to rub the medicine into her palm. Fenris noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Merrill had her eyes closed shut as she tried to resist the pain that was likely flowing through her at the moment.

Once Fenris was down he gently grabbed her by the arms and brought her to her feet as he said, "we should run your right hand under some water and take care of any infection before I treat it,"

Merrill simply nodded as Fenris led her towards the stream by placing his hand against her side. A strange and warm feeling coursed through her at his touch that ever so slightly eased the pain in her hands, but just as quickly as he had placed his hand there, he took it away as they reached the steam. The dalish then cautiously placed her hand under the rushing water as a strange mix of stinging pain and blissful relief engulfed her hand. She then took her hand out once it was significantly cleaned so Fenris could place the salve on the ruptured blisters.

Merrill watched in confusion as Fenris removed his leather vest and then tore of the left sleeve of his cotton shirt before tearing it into strips.

"Fenris, what are you doing?" Merrill asked as he grabbed her right wrist.

"Making Bandages," Fenris simply stated as he began to wrap the strips of cotton around her right hand tightly enough that they were secure, but loose enough that they didn't cause too much discomfort.

Upon checking Fenris' handy work Merrill nodded in her approval as she said, "Thank you,"

"You're… welcome," Fenris returned the thanks in a slightly distant manner that she had become accustomed to. The male elf then stood up and went back to his wood gathering without so much as another word.

Merrill continued to observe Fenris' handiwork as a thought formed in her head she before stated, "You've been awfully nice to me recently,"

"How so?" asked Fenris as he continued to collect more firewood; only half listening to what Merrill was saying.

"Well, before we were captured by those slavers you denied talking to me unless it was some sort of insult," The dalish explained as she started to clear a spot on the ground for her to sleep, "now, you've been very polite to me, at least compare to before, you have healed my hands-

"That was because they needed healing if you were to be able to fight off any slavers that found us," Fenris reasoned.

"You have allowed us to rest when I got tired," Merrill offered.

"It was getting dark anyway," Fenris quickly countered.

"You came back to save me at the tavern even though you could have just left me there to slow them down as you got away," Merrill pointed out, and this time Fenris had no response to give.

"You said it yourself, we're in this together, and we need to look out for each other," Fenris stated as he started to get a fire ready.

"Right, I did say that didn't I?" Merrill rambled as she returned to searching through the travel sack and pulled out her original robes and started out towards the woods.

"Where are you going?" asked Fenris once he noticed Merrill sneaking off.

"I'm going to go change; this dress is awfully pretty, but not very convenient for travel," Merrill stated as she continued on and out of sight to have some privacy, leaving Fenris to tend to the fire pit he was in the process of starting

V

That night was an uneventful evening. The two elves simply ate some of the food that they had and took shifts through the night on lookout duty, though the slavers never showed themselves, much to Fenris and Merrill's relief.

The next day they broke camp and headed out south, their plan was to travel all the way to the southern coast then head east in an attempt to reach Kirkwall.

The whole day was relatively uneventful as they travelled through the forest, the sun being their only guide in telling them where south was.

"Fenris look over there," the ex-slave heard his companion from behind him; causing him to turn around and noticed Merrill pointing over to her left. Turning his gaze, Fenris noticed what appeared to be a stone archway just beyond the current tree line.

"It's just some old ruins, we should keep moving," Fenris explained as he turned to continue their trek through the forest.

"It looks like elven ruins Fenris; we should investigate to find out about any of our history that could be hidden there," Merrill insisted.

"First off, It's _your_ history, not ours; second, we can't just waste our time to look at some old relics," Fenris reasoned, only to have Merrill start wondering towards the decaying structure. At that Fenris shook his head; he should have known better, Merrill would risk anything to learn more about her heritage, that was rule one with her as far as he was concerned.

"Merrill, we really should get going," Fenris insisted with a little more authority this time.

"It will only be a minute, Fenris," Merrill countered once she reached the ruins and started to observe them.

Releasing a frustrated sigh, Fenris trudged on over to the elven mage. Once he reached the ruins he noticed some strange writing that faded into the stonework.

"What does it say?" Fenris inquired, letting curiosity get the better of him.

"I don't know, this appears to be a different dialect to what I'm used to," Merrill admitted as she gently placed her hand on the stone so as to not aggravate her blisters.

Always on high alert, Fenris started to patrol around the structure. Once he reached the opposite side of the archway he came across a whole town's worth of ruins, from ivy-covered pillars to crumbled archways. The vague pattern that the destroyed structures suggested that the place used to be a temple of some sort.

"Look at this place, it's fascinating," Fenris glanced over to Merrill who spoke with admiration in her voice as her eyes seemed to desperately soak up as much of the sight before her as possible.

Fenris, however, couldn't shake this bad feeling of being watched; causing him to instinctively reach for his blade only to remember that he lost it during his encounter with Leotok in the tavern.

"We really should get going," Fenris stated assertively in an attempt to hide the uncomfortable feeling of being watched.

"Come on Fenris," Merrill all but whined, "the old relics won't come to life and start attacking us,"

"Given our line of work, I'm not too sure about that," the male elf protested as he continued his scanning of the surroundings.

"Don't worry, It won't take long," Fenris didn't feel any better hearing that as he watched Merrill travel further into the ruins. Finding no other option, Fenris decided to follow along and get it over with.

"This place is so old, it might even be older then Arlathan itself," Merrill mused as she started to observe some more old archways while Fenris walked around to keep his eyes out for danger.

After making his rounds a few times he simply gave up and proceeded to lean against one of the larger walls and take a break.

The moment he placed his back against the wall a deafening boom manifested from behind him coupled with the sound of crumbling stone as he was thrown through the air to crash violently on both his head and left shoulder, causing his vision to blur and his ears to ring from the collision.

Everything around sounded muffled as though it was travelling through a gag cloth. He vaguely remembers turning around onto his back to see a giant monster standing where the wall had been, the remnants of which were scattered around the beast's feet.

The creature itself was at least twenty feet tall and vaguely resembled a giant spider or praying mantis made out of stone. It had five spindly legs that were clawed at the end. It's abdomen was thick and oval shaped, while it's torso was thin with frail arms protruding from the sides with sharp talons at the end, at the top of the body was an elongated head with a giant maw with rows of razor sharp teeth.

Fenris watched with paralyzing shock as it tinted its head back in a shrieking roar that was ominously muted due to Fenris' ringing ears.

"Fenris, run! It's a Varterral!" The tattooed warrior barely made out the words that obviously belonged to Merrill as he scrambled to his feet and ran in any direction then the monster's direction.

As Fenris ran his hearing started to return, along with his sense of touch as his arm suddenly exploded with pain as it registered all at once. He looked over to it to find it limp; likely from that fall he received. In desperation he quickly grabbed his dislocated arm and snapped it back into place with another explosion of pain coursing through him.

Back to the situation at hand, Fenris pressed himself against the wall he was now hiding behind as he peaked around the corner to check if the coast was clear. With his hearing back he could make out the sounds of fighting back the way he came to remember Merrill, who was probably taking on the monster by herself.

Quickly making up his mind; Fenris ran towards the sounds of fighting to find Merrill casting spell after spell at the multi-legged monstrosity with little to no effect, the creature stalking closer and closer with every spell cast.

"Merrill!" Fenris howled above the shrieking of the beast, "You can't fight it, it's too strong!"

With that Merrill quickly casted a spirit bolt top stun the beast in order to run towards Fenris as the Creature shrieked at the two elves before stomping one of its massive legs into the ground, causing it to collapse to Fenris and Merrill's surprise as they fell in.

**Author's note:**

**I've started a poll on my profile page that will help determine an outcome; don't worry, there won't be any spoilers in the description.**


	12. Pain and Peace

**You know how you're about to talk to someone who has an authoritative power over you, be it your boss at work, or your grumpy father, and the subject of the talk is important but goes against everything that the person you're talking to believes in? You usually plan the conversation in your head over and over and over and over again, certain that THIS time, you will finally overcome your fear of said person and simply say what needs to be said, only to have you walk up to him/her and you instantly forget everything you were about to say, am I right?**

**Well, just implement that scenario with me as the Submissive individual (that is, the one trying to actually say something) and this chapter as the authoritative power and you've got a pretty good idea of what writing this chapter was like for me.**

**There were nights I'd just stare at the most recent sentence in the chapter, thinking to myself: should I continue? How can I continue? Can I keep the pacing right? Will people lose interest?**

**These questions and others would plague my mind. Whenever it got too much, and I feel defeated, I look at the reviews and private messages that you guys and gals send me. The words of encouragement reassure me that you enjoy my work and give me inspiration to continue writing.**

**I think I can sum this up into two words: thank you**

Chapter 12

For the second time in two minutes, Fenris fell onto hard stone in a previously hidden underground chamber of some kind, this time landing on his back; immediately, a sharp explosion of pain erupted from his side. He looked around in an attempt to see through the thick cloud of dust that had filled the area after being disturbed by the collapse.

Fenris remained perfectly still as he got the impression of being watched from above; the creature likely trying to see through the dust as well to find the elves. The ex-slave only released a sigh of relief once he heard the sound of the monster's footsteps get progressively quieter.

With the beast gone for now, Fenris pulled himself up to inspect the damage to his side. He growled in agony as the pain doubled from the movement. Being careful the second time, Fenris moved his head to find what looked like a piece of old bone sticking though the lower left area of his abdomen.

Clenching his teeth to fight the pain, Fenris gripped the end of the bone and yanked it out as quickly as he could, gasping in pain as the bone came out.

"Fenris!?" The male elf turned his head towards the voice, instantly recognizing it as Merrill's.

"Over here!" he called out as he started to slowly pull himself back up before clutching his side as more pain rippled through him, his hands getting soaked in his own blood that bled out in a steady stream.

"Mythal have mercy, Fenris!" Merrill exclaimed as she brought herself over a pile of rubble to catch sight of the injured warrior before making her way down to him while asking, "What happened?"

"I think I landed on a piece of bone," Fenris grunted as Merrill came to kneel at his side.

"Looks like you landed on more than that," Merrill pointed out, causing Fenris to turn around slowly so as not to cause too much pain to find a crushed skeleton underneath him; one of the ribs was missing.

"Great, just great," Fenris grunted as he put his attention back to his wound.

"Let me see if I can help," Merrill offered and went behind him without his permission and stated putting pressure on the entry wound on his back; causing Fenris to grunt through the pain as she did.

"What was that thing?" Fenris asked as he tried to brace himself through the pain.

"It was a Varterral, guardians of old elven cities gifted to us from The Creators to fend off high dragons," Merrill explained as she removed one of her hands form Fenris' wound to reach for her travel sack.

"Those things were made to take on high dragons!?" Fenris exclaimed in disbelief as Merrill brought out the ruined shirt Fenris used for the elven mage's burnt hands yesterday.

"Yes, now are you able to bandage yourself? I'd do it for you but…" Merrill didn't need to finish, Fenris was well aware of the fact that she couldn't do things that required a subtle hand, not with her hands being burnt and bandaged.

"I think so; can you hold my wound while I take off my armor?" Fenris asked as he removed one of his hands to try and work with the leather straps.

"Yes, I should be able to," Merrill assured as she placed the cloth down next to Fenris before putting pressure on the wounds, moving and adjusting her hands accordingly to allow the ex-slave a chance to pull off his armor and put it aside.

Once the top half of Fenris' armor was off; he took the torn up shirt and began tearing it into manageable strips. He then started wrapping the cloth around his midsection as Merrill kept pressure on his injury to slow the bleeding.

As Fenris did this, Merrill continued to keep the wound closed, her mind beginning to wander from focusing on the wound to the male elf's back. She found his Lyrium markings to be strangely, enthralling somehow. The chalky white of the markings complimented his tan skin nicely.

Merrill remembers how they would change from the chalk white to an ethereal blue whenever he activated them. Then, out of curiosity, Merrill removed one of her hands from the wound to trace a line of lyrium with her index finger, letting the magic in her veins meld with the lyrium. The line glowing blue as she did so.

Then, faster than lightning, Fenris spun around and grabbed Merrill by the throat, pinned her body to the ground with his own, and started to glow blue all over as he stared bloody murder into her eyes.

"Don't EVER do that again!" Fenris growled in an almost insane voice before he released his grip on her neck, the Dalish gasping as her lungs cried for air.

As Merrill worked on fulfilling her lungs desperate plea for oxygen, Fenris pushed himself off of the panicked elf and focused on lowering his own heart rate. It had skyrocketed from the sheer internal panic he felt the moment Merrill's finger had touched his skin.

Once the adrenaline had worn off, Fenris gripped his side as the pain quickly returned in all its force. The fast motion he had made in reaction to Merrill's magic had caused damaged tissue to be agitated, causing a flare up of sharp pain that was almost unbearable.

"Fenris… you're hurt…," the ex-slave heard Merrill point out between deep breaths, Fenris turned his head to the side to look at the Dalish. She was looking back at him with wide eyes as she absently rubbed the red marks around her trachea. The fact that Merrill's eyes showed not fear, but concern, confused him.

"I'm fine," Fenris lied as he turned his head away to break eye contact and focus on bandaging his torso.

"No you're not, you may say you are but you're really not," Merrill insisted.

"Just let me be, I'm fine" Fenris demanded as he winced from pulling too tight.

"Are you sure? I won't touch your markings again, I can just-

"Leave me alone, you Witch!" Fenris roared as he turned around to glare at her, only to gasp and recoil from the pain that doubled from the movement.

Merrill hung her head as a single tear escaped her eye and trailed down her cheek. The insult had stung hard. Though she had been called that many times in the past by Fenris, she had always been able to shrug it off before. This time it felt different; for she knew that she had done something incredible stupid by sending her magic into him. The male elf had always been very clear about his distrust of magic; it would even reach a point where he wouldn't even receive treatment from Anders when he got seriously injured, he'd just take a health poultice, a few bandages, and leave it at that.

Drawn out of her self-loathing by a grunt of pain, the Dalish looked up to see Fenris struggling to bring himself to stand. Instinctively, Merrill reached her hands out and opened her mouth as though to offer assistance only to quickly retract her hands and close her mouth, now perfectly aware that Fenris would condemn any help from her.

So she simply watched on in silence as Fenris had finally managed to stand up, albeit with a load of swearing and grunting to assist him, and take a few steady steps.

At that moment the two elves heard an animalistic shriek in the distance signaling the Varterral was nearby and searching for them. The two elves quickly looked at each other as a silent agreement passed through them to get moving.

Fenris and Merrill started searching around the chamber that they had landed in, desperate to find a way out. It was the Dalish who found a hallway that led further into the underground ruins as a viable escape from the creature and the two travelled through it in a hurry to get away.

V

For the better part of the afternoon the elves had travelled through the long abandoned ruins, desperate to find a way out in the maze of decaying corridors and chambers.

Thankfully they hadn't come across the Varterral during their exploration of the ancient corridors and chambers, but the occasional shriek off in the distance would remind them of the impending terror that hunted them.

The air around the elves was heavily pregnant with a deathly, almost awkward, silence as nothing was said between them. Merrill would occasionally cast a glance at Fenris, a worried expression across her face as she remembered the expression across Fenris' own face when he told her to never touch him like that again. The expression wasn't anger or hatred like she would have expected, but blind terror. It sent shivers through her very core to see such a vulnerable emotion to manifest on Fenris' face. She had always known Fenris to be strong and solid, immovable and set in his emotions and opinions. To see such weakness and fear in him was unheard of to her.

As she thought these things the two came to a long narrow hallway between two chambers, and about halfway through the passage was a small alcove to the right that had formed from collapse when the roots of a tree had shifted the stonework. Merrill watched as Fenris inspected the small area before saying, "there's a turn in this alcove that we can hide and rest behind for the night,"

Merrill merely nodded in agreement as she followed the lyrium engraved elf into the alcove and around the bend that he mentioned to find a reasonably sized area for the two to rest comfortably in.

Tearing off the roots that grew through the surrounding stonewalls; Merrill began prepping a fire at the bend as Fenris laid out the bedrolls within the hidden area of the alcove. Neither one said a word to each other as they performed their tasks, even after they had finished prepping camp and sat by the fire silence still reigned while the two were lost in their own thoughts.

Without a word, Merrill silently got up and walked to the sack containing their previsions and brought out the last two apples. Without a look or word of acknowledgement, the Dalish held out an apple with her hand. Fenris simply reached out to grab the fruit with his hand that lay bare; for he had taken off his gauntlets to better expose his hands to the fire.

The moment Fenris grabbed the apple the tip of Merrill's finger, which was still wrapped around the red fruit, graced the line of lyrium that ran across his wrist as a weak sensation coursed through him. The feeling was so weak that Fenris almost didn't perceive it.

Fenris quickly yanked the fruit from Merrill's hand to break the contact as quickly as possible. The female elf stared at him for a moment, unaware of the contact; she immediately assumed that he didn't want to be near her and went back to her spot to eat.

The other elf simply stared at his wrist with wide eyes as he tried to process the feeling that went through him at the most resent physical contact he had with Merrill, so much so that he almost didn't hear the Dalish's speak.

"I should apologize,"

"What?" Fenris asked as he looked away from his wrist to the elf that was sitting at the opposite side of the fire, her knees to her chin as she looked back at him with nervous eyes.

"I should apologize for earlier," Merrill repeated, "What I did was incredible stupid and I should never had done it and you have every right to be mad at me and I would completely understand if you are still mad at me even after I apologize and-

"Merrill," Fenris said strictly, yet still keeping his voice at a normal volume.

"Yes… Fenris?" Merrill asked cautiously, as though she was afraid that he might pounce over the fire and strangle her again.

"Apology… accepted," Fenris said in a quiet and awkward tone, telling Merrill that he wasn't used to accepting forgiveness.

"So… are you still mad at me?" Merrill asked much like a child would ask their parent after she had done something wrong.

"No, not anymore at least, and I am sorry for attacking you so violently, I was just caught off guard because…" Fenris trailed off as he broke his gaze upon her.

"Because Danarius used to torture you the same way, didn't he?" Merrill finished softly, causing Fenris to release a deep breath he did know he was holding.

"It was like having your blood replaced by burning embers from a dying fire, starting at the area he would touch and spread outward at a pace so agonizingly slow that it would take five minutes just to have it fill the entirety of your body, by then you would already be begging for the torment to stop, and Danarius wouldn't end until you were literally begging for _death_ through choked gasps and sobs," all the while Fenris had been staring at his hand as he detailed Danarius' favorite torture method, short of one other method he would never speak of.

"Fenris… I… I didn't know-

"Yea well, now you do," Fenris interrupted as he stood up and walked to his bedroll to sleep.

Merrill watched him for awhile before turning her head back to the dying fire; only charred ashes and glowing embers like the ones that Fenris felt through his veins remained. She had extreme difficulty understanding how someone could do such a thing to another and justify the act.

Finding no answers in the embers, the dalish walked over to her bedroll and slowly found her mind entering the fade.

Fenris, however, wasn't sleeping. He just laid there as he stared at his wrist, his eyes wide with shock from the conformation that it provided; for the sensation of Merrill sending her magic through him with her touch on both occasions provided one undeniable sensation.

Soothing warmth.

**Author's Note:**

**I know this is a short chapter but I just found this to be a good place to stop.**

**As many of you may have noticed, Hawke's group hasn't shown up for a few chapters, mostly because I'm really just stuck on what to do next in their arch that would be interesting.**

**So I've painfully decided that you guys and gals should help pick the next chapter's story arch about Hawke's group. Now don't think that I'm just forcing my work onto you, think of yourselves as… advisers. If you come up with a good idea(s), whether it be as simple as a bandit attack, or as complex as a look into Sebastian's thoughts on Hawke's growing insanity (No M/M please), send me a PM and we'll discuss it until we find something I can work with.**

**Thank you.**


	13. Skip this chapter

**I know what you guys and gals are thinking when you see the updated status of V&L "Yay, an update, let's see what new developments will be present now" or "finally, the next chapter is up,"**

**Unfortunately, this is not an update…**

**It's probably going to hurt you to read this as much as it is for me to type it, but I'm going to be taking a hiatus from writing Fanfiction in general. The reason? I've been really stuck on this story and the voices of Fenris and Merrill in my head are hibernating for the winter. You know… no shoes and all that. Also, a friend of mine and fellow aspiring author once told me. "Good stories aren't written because the reader wants to be told a story, but are written because the author wants to tell a story." Basically, because they have fun writing it and V&L just isn't fun for me to write at the moment, or even for the past few chapters. Now don't get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed hearing about you guys having fun reading it, but each chapter was like manual labor to me (FYI, I'm not physically strong) so I've decided that I'd take a break and focus on writing my fantasy novel I've been wanting to write since before I've even discovered this site.**

**Don't make no mistake, this isn't the last you've heard of me and I might put up the occasional one-shot. I'll just mostly be focusing on reviewing other stories when I'm on this site.**

**I'd also like to thank each and every one of you for your unwavering support and determination in me with special thanks to Hatsepsut for beta-ing my story despite her lack of interest in Merrill as a character, Ladyreddarkness for helping me get a general mood for how to write the chapters, Gatersnacks for your hilarious comments that always made me chuckle, and to selvira for being one of the few to have review every chapter of both V&L and Kitten and the Wolf. You've all made me a better writer and I love you all for it (In a totally platonic and no homo sort of way!)**

**I'll give you a 'farewell for now' gift, a small scene of a future chapter of V&L that I've written ahead of time that I like to call, the rain scene.**

**V**

"I always loved the rain, don't you?" Merrill asked in a cheerful tone as she twirled around in the rain as she started to cross the road that ran through the middle of the town.

"I'll admit, I've never really given it any thought, Merrill," Fenris admitted as he watched the young elf with a small smile on his face.

"When I was just a little Da'len I would often sneak away from the keeper when she wasn't looking during a storm, she always got engrossed in her studies to never notice, and I would go play with the others in the rain," Merrill babbled as Fenris noticed a horse galloping down the road so quick that neither the rider of the horse nor Merrill could stop or get out of the way in time. So Fenris quickly reacted and reached out to grab Merrill and pull her out of the way. In the process he had caused the two elves to spin around to have Merrill pinned with her back to the wall with Fenris pressed up against her front.

The two elves froze at the realization of the position that they found themselves in. Fenris' face was mere inches from Merrill's and their bodies pressed so hard together that they could feel each other's body as though the rain soaked clothes they wore might not have been there at all.

The two simply stared at each other's eyes; Fenris was a few inches taller than Merrill so he had to tilt his head down ever so slightly to look straight at her. Their breaths mingled as they stood transfixed in place, each one mesmerized by the peaceful and serene glow that seemed to resonate from the other's eyes.

Watching her face, taking in every detail that he could find, from the graceful patterns of the tattoos to the loose, wet strands of raven black hair that fell to the side of her slightly reddened cheeks; he couldn't help but have his breath taken away by her beauty. That foreign feeling that had been bothering Fenris coursed through him with an intensity that he has never felt until this moment. Before he knew it, he started leaning his face towards Merrill's. The ex-slave vaguely notices Merrill copying the same motion before he closed his eyes in a peaceful serenity that he's never experienced before.

With that a wave of freezing water crashed into the two elves that instantly shattered whatever it was that was about to happen. The tattooed warrior searched for the cause of the intrusion to find another horse galloping away.

**Sorry for the tease…**


	14. Back in BusinessFinally Progressing

**I RETURN****! Sorry about that. But I just had to get that out of my system. I'm back my faithful viewers; and let me tell you that it wasn't easy digging through my disturbed, Witcher obsessed (Look it up), no-stakes poker playing, caffeine fuelled, Attention Deficit disordered, complex rat maze shaped bundle of synapses and electrical discharges that one could hardly call a brain, to find that sweet innocent voice named Merrill, or the (as my beta would probably call) Chocolate on gravel voice named Fenris. But by the Maker, Creator, Stone, Akatosh, Forefather and Mother Creatrix, Outsider, Chuck Shirley, and any other game-world deity (Or TV show in the case of Chuck Shirley) that I haven't mentioned yet, did I find those voices in my head again, and I started typing.**

**Sorry about the run-on sentences.**

**Can you believe that it has been SIX AND A HALF months since my last chapter, all the way back in November 2012, we even missed the one year anniversary of when I put this story up all the way back in 12/29/2011, can you believe that it was that long ago since I first started this story and met some really nice and supportive people.**

**So a little summary of what I've been up to while on my hiatus: I managed to try some college; though I'm afraid that didn't work out. So I'm job searching. My youngest cousin turned 1 last month. My grandmother reached the Christian life expectancy (70 years for those who don't know) despite literally hundreds of health issues. I managed to keep my first dating relationship going for a whole year with minimal drama (Is that a good or bad thing?). I've even got to work on my novel, which I think I'm going to turn into a series of short stories all following the same character. I might even post the first chapter of that story at the end of this chapter of V&L to get your opinions.**

**Believe me when I say that if it weren't for you guys/gals, the fans, I won't have ever gotten back to this story. I would also like to welcome pink-plume to the fold of readers he/she read my story over my hiatus and managed to get me to go looking for Fenris and Merrill's voices instead of waiting for them to come out of hiding; and I would like to give my personal apologies to Snoweria for accidentally making you cry about the whole Kitten and the Wolf problem. And a big thanks to my Friend and beta Hatsepsut. And I think you guys should all give her a thank you too, she's endured so much in life yet is always willing to correct my embarrassing mistakes, I've never met you in person Hats, yet I feel like I can trust and believe in you more than any of the friends I can physically hang out with here in the States. Just don't tell them I said that ;) JK**

**Now I'm pretty sure you guys didn't come here to listen to me blabber on and on. so let's get to that story. And maybe get some Hawke and Co time while we're at it.**

Chapter 13

Hawke released a sigh of relief as the small settlement that Herder had mentioned came into view, _guess he wasn't lying to us after all, or at least about the town_. He felt like he was finally getting somewhere in finding Merrill and Fenris. He turned his attention to his companions who were just now making their way out of the forest and up the hill that overlooked the field the town resided in.

"Hurry up!" Hawke called to everyone, "We're almost at the town!" Hawke then proceeded to jog down the hill without checking to see if anyone was picking up the pace.

"He'd had better not be so insane about losing Merrill that he is starting to hallucinate and see towns that aren't there!" Varric called sarcastically to Anders as he made his way up the forest side of the hill. For the millionth time Varric cursed in some perverted Andraste proverb for having The Maker make him a dwarf, having short legs and all that.

Anders was the first besides Hawke to reach the top of the hill, and he visibly relaxed at the sight of a walled settlement off in the distance.

"Hawke's right!" the healer called down to the others just as Isabela reached the top of the hill as well.

"Great, couldn't they have built the town a little closer to the hill? Isabela whined, "My legs have been killing me since last night," the pirate then gave a knowing look at Anders who raised his hands up in defense.

"Hey, you said you can take it rough," Anders pleaded in defense as Isabela made her way down the hill to Hawke; this caused Sebastian to blush and plug his ears as he reached the top.

"Don't give us that Choir Boy, we all know about your adventurous lifestyle pre-Chantry," Varric pointed out as he was busy writing in a handbook.

"What's that you writing?" Anders asked,

"Friend fiction, you and 'Bela' have been giving me some juicy material for weeks," Varric pointed out without taking his eyes away from the book.

"Bela?" Sebastian questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Our Healer is head over heels for a woman famous for her many flings," Varric replied causally.

Sebastian released a sigh before saying, "Really Anders?"

Anders simply ignored the ex-prince as he made his way down the hill.

V

Fenris didn't get a wink of sleep.

He had kept thinking about the warm and welcome sensation that Merrill sent through him when she touched his markings. The Ex-slave had never felt anything associated with his markings that weren't in some form of pain. Heck, he couldn't feel the gentle breeze of an autumn wind without a slight heat course through his marked flesh. Merrill's touch was literally the first time in what remained of his memory that he could recall never feeling pain from the lyrium. Fenris thought about why he's never felt it before; after all, he and Merrill had touched a little more than a few times on this Maker forsaken odyssey of theirs, why hadn't he felt the warm feeling till now?

Fenris thought back to those times and noticed that he was usually distracted through conversation during those moments and wasn't aware of it until he literally looked down at the interlaced fingers or grabbed shoulder, then usually breaking contact as soon as possible at the discovery. Still, that doesn't explain the strange touch in the first place.

He looked over his shoulder to look at the elf that slept just a few feet away from him; a sound and serene look on her face as her mind explored the fade. She truly confused him sometimes. When he first learned of her blood magic practices he immediately assumed that her innocent and childish personality was false, an act to try and make her appear harmless so she could strike and sacrifice someone for a blood ritual or something. But upon spending time with her he slowly learned that she actually was naïve minded, much like a child that had yet to learn about the cruel facts of life. What he wouldn't give to at least have memories of a time when he thought like that; being a child and playing with his sister, if she was even real.

Fenris was drawn out of his thought as a yawn escaped Merrill's lips. She then sat up and stretched her arms over her head before finally opening her eyes.

"Morning, or at least I think it is, one can never tell when it is morning when underground… well except maybe dwarves" Merrill greeted as she got up and started to roll up her bedroll.

Fenris quickly turned his head as a barely audible sound out in the distance caught his attention. The noise sounded like something hard hitting stone, and it was repeating and getting closer.

Fenris turned his head towards Merrill, who was completely still, leading Fenris to believe that she heard the noise too, and quietly put a finger to his lips as he slowly reached down to pick up his sword. The male elf calmly walked to the edge of the bend in the alcove the two resided in as he waited and listened. The injury to his side no longer hurt, but it was still sore and made his abdomen feel stiff; this would clearly inhibit his fighting abilities, but he's fought with worse wounds before.

Before long, the first sound was accompanied by a strange clicking noise. Fenris turned his head towards Merrill and she gave a slow nod confirming his silent question.

The Vartarrel was still hunting them.

All of time seemed to stop as the two elves silently waited while the sounds, and inevitable, the Vartarrel got closer and closer. The tattooed warrior steadied his breath and heart rate as he though up several scenarios in his head on how to fight this elven construct, all ending very badly for him and Merrill.

_Merrill,_ Fenris thought as he looked to the terrified elf clutching her staff in her hands, an idea forming in his head. Fenris made a hand gesture to get the mage's attention before motioning to her staff before pointing at the think roots that grew around them, all the while praying that the blood mage would be able to figure out the meaning behind his hand signals.

The Vartarrel was practically right on them now. The Construct's hiss like breathing could be heard right around the corner of the bend as Fenris tensed his whole body, ready to fight. Before long, the beast turned its head into the alcove, though not yet around the bend. Fenris could smell the acidic scent that came from the monstrosities' dripping venom.

The moment it turned its head around the bend, everything happened at once. The Vartarrel's eyes widened as it saw its prey before Fenris stabbed one of its eyes out with a thrust of his sword. The creature hissed in equal parts pain and panic as its sight was reduced. It was at that moment that Fenris heard a series of sharp sounds around him, like wood snapping as he saw the think vines around them move like snakes towards the Vartarrel, the plant matter wrapping itself around the creature's neck, arms, frontal legs, anything it could grab onto.

"RUN!" Fenris yelled as he charged directly underneath the construct; hacking and slashing at the beast's legs and underbelly as he did. The tattooed warrior notice one of the Vartarrel's legs getting encased in stone that rose from the ground, and then another sucked down in a stone prison. The construct essentially had four of its five legs trapped in root, stone, and ice.

Fenris noticed that the beast's last leg was desperately trying to chip away the ice that encased the other; so Fenris decided to delay its work by swing his sword in a downward motion on the free leg, severing it at the joint in the process.

Even as the two elves ran for their lives from the trapped beast, Fenris couldn't help but smirk at the monster's pain filled shriek.

_**Author's note:**_

**I know I know, it's short, only 1358 words in total actually, but I just wanted to get this chapter out into the open so you guys/gals could know that I'm back in business. Believe me when I say that the next chapter (Which I do plan on working on immediately and getting out within two weeks) will be totally worth waiting for a little longer.**

**And in the meantime, enjoy this little snippet from my story novel that I hope to publish, you guys will literally be the first to see this, and keep in mind that it is still a work in progress, literally a first draft.**

**The following contains original characters and an original fictional world that belong to M.R. Finne (My chosen penname), no one outside of me are allowed to use these characters/places.**

**Of Fire and Metal**

**7823 S.E. (Second Era)**

**Age five**

It was the combination of horrified screams and the acrid odor in the air that awoke five year old Zejho from his sleep. He groggily raised his head from his wool pillow just as his mother frantically ran into the room calling his name. Zejho barely knew what was happening as his mother grabbed him from his bed. Without even bothering to get him dressed, his mother picked him up and held him with his chin resting against her shoulder and his small legs wrapped around her waist for support as they quickly left the room and into the main area of the house.  
>"Mama, where are we going?" Zejho asked as he rubbed each of his eyes one at a time with his knuckles to will the exhaustion away.<br>"Bad men are coming for us _Iith-oc,_ we must get away before they find us," Zejho's mother said while using the elven word for child, Zejho knew that mother didn't use endearments like _Iith-oc_ unless something was wrong.  
>The moment that his mother opened the side door to the house; Zejho's nose was overwhelmed by the stench of the fire and smoke that engulfed the village. The screaming that seemed to come from everywhere made his ears hurt.<br>"Mama, what's going on!?" Zejho cried as his mother held him tighter while heading down the alleyway between their house and their neighbor's house.  
>"Everything's going to be okay <em>Iith-oc<em>," Mother reassured, "We just need to get to uncle Oijro's house,"  
>They continued their way through the alleyway. Zejho looked up at the sky only to see that the stars have been blotted out from the smoke and firelight. Once they reached the end of the alley; his mother leaned up against the wall. The screaming was louder than ever as Zejho put his hands to his ears to try and block out the horrid noise.<br>"Make it stop, Mama," Zejho cried as they started to move again; this time heading out into the street that was filled with people running for their lives, the Five Year Old's eyes widened in horror as he saw some large men, taller than any elf by a head, in clothing made of metal riding strange looking elks that were stouter and sturdier in build and without antlers.  
>"Who are the scary people, Mama," Zejho cried as he saw the metal people hit cloth wearing people with metal knives as long as a full grown elf's arm, blood running from cuts that the giant knives made on the elves.<br>Zejho's mother held him tighter as she picked up the pace, nearly crushing the poor boy's chest, "Just don't look at them _Iith-oc_," she cried. Zejho turned his head around to see Uncle Oijro's elk stables; and at the front of the stables getting two elks out of their pens was Uncle Oijro himself, the elf being larger than most elves, though still half a head short to the metal clothed men.  
>"Hurry, Vyrhajj!" Zejho heard Uncle Oijro call mother once he noticed his sister and nephew heading his way. The five year old heard a rapid rhythm of gallops from behind him. He turned his head back around to rest his chin on mother's shoulder as he saw a metal man riding an antlerless elk towards them, giant knife in hand.<br>"MAMA!?" Zejho called as the metal man reached them and swung his large knife at them; the next thing Zejho knows is his face stinging and the back of his head hitting the ground with mother atop him. The elf boy tried to regain his senses as his vision swam and his head felt light and heavy at the same time.  
>Barely getting his head out from under his mother's shoulder; Zejho looked over to his mother's head to find a large cut on the back of her neck, he also felt something hot and wet running along his face. Hearing a loud neighing noise, he turned his head to see that Uncle had stabbed the metal man's strange elk with a pitchfork, the creature falling to its side and crushing the man's leg as it did. Oijro then ripped out the pitchfork out of the elk like animal and stabbed it into the injured man's neck, which wasn't covered with metal. Zejho watched Uncle Oijro run towards him as the man as he gurgled up blood.<br>"Vyrhajj, Zejho!" Uncle called as he reached the boy and his mother, falling to his knees as he saw the wound on the back of Vyrhajj's neck.  
>"Uncle… help?" Zejho choked as he tried to lift mother off of him. Oijro quickly got up and helped move Vyrhajj so Zejho could get out from under her; the adult then picked up the small boy and started to run for the stables were the elks were.<br>"Uncle, you're forgetting Mama!" Zejho cried as he outstretched his arm in a futile attempt to touch his mother.  
>"We got to leave town Zejho," Oijro replied simply once they reached the stables.<br>"But we can't leave without her!" the boy cried as the town burned around them.  
>"She's dead boy," Oijro yelled as he put Zejho on one of the elks.<br>"Then we must bury her!" Zejho pleaded as tears ran freely down his face.  
>Oijro then grabbed Zejho's collar and pulled his face to his despite the boy being on the elk, and he the ground, Zejho worried he might fall off the elk. The five year old could see tears running down his uncle's face, something he had never seen his usually grumpy uncle do, "You don't think I want to?" he yelled so as to be heard above the screams around them, "We will both die if we stay here. So shut up and stay on the elk!"<br>Zejho said nothing as Uncle let him go, or when the adult hastily climbed the elk himself and gave it a whip and holler and they were off, running out of the stables and into the town streets. Oijro making sure to dodge around the metal men as they made their way to the west edge of town. Once they reached the town limits Uncle Oijro gave the elk another holler and they sped off into the great forest that lay beyond.

_**Read and Review please, or might be tempted to take another half-year long Hiatus. JK :P**_


	15. Companion

**This is another short chapter I'm afraid. I really wanted to write some Hawke and Co segment during this one but I just couldn't think of anything, I'll probably put my full efforts for the next chapter on Hawke and his group. And boy did this chapter really want to go a different direction during the Fenris and Merrill's segment; I'll just let you read it to see why.**

**Warning: Un-beta-ed, so please point out any mistakes I made.**

**Chapter 14**

Fenris and Merrill dashed through the decrepit hallways and chambers of the underground elven ruins with the stomping, hissing, and shrieking of the Vartarrel pursuing them. Merrill would glance back every now and then to see either a shadow or a clawed leg come around a corner as they ran for their lives.

Merrill looked back again after reaching halfway through a particularly long corridor to find the entire construct in view, its legs stomping on the ground in a rhythmic pattern while its claws remained poised for a strike. It was also getting closer. The Dalish quickly cast a stone spell at the ceiling to cause it to collapse the corridor, blocking the monster's path.

The two elves made their way down the rest of the corridor to find themselves in a large ceremonial chamber. The ceiling was domed with a complex system of rafters to hold it all up. At the far end of the chamber was a large alter resting on a raised platform. The centerpiece of which was a large statue of one of the elven gods, Falon'Din if she was correct.

"Up there," Fenris stated with a raised finger above the fifteen foot tall statue, Merrill turned her gaze to find a hole in the ceiling right above the statues head with light coming through it and shine upon the god, large enough for someone to squeeze through and escape to the surface.

"We have to get up there somehow," Merrill pointed out.

"We can always climb the statue," Fenris offered.

Merrill's eyes widened at that as she protested, "You want to defile Falon'Din by climbing on a statue made in his honor!?"

"You see another way out!?"

"No, but-"

"No buts about it, would you rather please a God, or live to see tomorrow!?" Fenris questioned, causing Merrill to pause as she seriously considered the question, Falon'Din was not a God to trifle with after all.

Merrill was quickly drawn out of her musings as the sound of rubble moving accompanied by shrieking, causing Merrill to make her decision almost immediately.

"Run!" she yelled as the two elves made a run for the statue; they were about halfway across the chamber when the rubble gave way to reveal the enraged Vartarrel. The creature locked its remaining eye on the two elves and immediately charged them.

Merrill quickly swung her staff before the creature, causing a row of icicle spikes to emerge from the ground and impale the construct's front legs. This barely caused the monster to pause as it reared up on its hind legs in defiance; this time Merrill summoned some vines to wrap around the Vartarrel's hind legs and trip it up. The monster fell to the ground in a heap before Merrill, the vines still trying to wrap themselves around the beast even as it struggled.

The construct locked its eye on Merrill again after a bit of struggling, it then reached out to swipe at Merrill with its giant claw, and would have killed her too if Fenris hadn't ran past her and swung his sword at the claw, severing it at the wrist in the process.

The construct immediately raised its other claw in an attempt to smash Fenris from above. Merrill reacted by shooting a spirit bolt at the claw, this knocked the claw to its side and missed Fenris by a foot.

With that the two elves made a break for the statue, Fenris, with his more athletic body managed to reach the statue first. He quickly sheathed his sword on his back and hopped up to grab at the statues hand. He then began pulling himself up.

By the time Merrill reached the statue Fenris was already standing on the statue's arm, He quickly reached down to grab Merrill's hand when it became apparent that she was too short to reach the stone hand.

As Fenris began to pull the Dalish up, Merrill began to panic as her hand, still wounded and wrapped up in cloth from the burns, began to slip form Fenris' grasp; the fact that Fenris wasn't at full strength from his injured side didn't help things either.

Whether it was Fenris' decaying strength or Merrill's weak grasp that failed, neither elf knew as Merrill fell to the ground on her back. Merrill started to get herself up back up when the Vartarrel reached her, she released a scream that sounded like Fenris' name as the construct gave a vicious swing with its clawed hand, sending her flying to the side and land on hard stone, her scream ending at the exact moment of impact.

Fenris could barely comprehend what had just happened. He stared in horror at the sight of the motionless elf lying on the ground. Seeing but not believing that Merrill, the naïve, sweet minded elf that he had been stuck travelling with for about a month, could very well have just…

Fenris shook his head to try and prevent his thoughts from going there. The lyrium engraved warrior turned his gaze at the Vartarrel, pure rage boiling inside of him as he stood up atop the statue's hand and unsheathed his sword, and leap from his perch and landed on the monster's head. Fenris ignored all the pain that shot though his side as he held on to the thrashing creature and hacked at its head again and again.

At some point the beast managed to swing its head hard enough for Fenris to lose his grip and fell of the monster. His sword still in hand, he pulled himself up as another wave of pain coursed through him, he ignored it and charged the creature. The Vartarrel, not used to its prey coming at it, released a shriek of pain as Fenris hacked at one of its legs, cutting a deep gash into the monsters stony hide. Fenris then gave an uppercut; slashing the monster's throat and making it stumble away from the warrior in pain.

The elf wasn't finished yet as he charged the beast one more time and delivered a mighty two-handed swing at the creature's front legs, severing their ends and making the construct to collapse on the ground in a heap. Not wasting any time, Fenris then reversed the giant sword in his hands and delivered the finishing blow the top of the monstrosity's head, the elven construct giving one final screech as it died.

Fenris didn't even bother to pull the sword out of the Vartarrel's head as he took a step back and nearly collapsed in a panting heap; he then gripped his side in agony as the adrenaline began to wear off. His wiped his sweat covered brow in exhaustion as he panted sporadically; his mind completely blank except for one repeating thought.

Merrill lying on the ground motionless.

Fenris leaned forward as he suddenly vomited what little contents he had in his stomach, which was nothing more than pieces of apple and some bile. He didn't even dare to turn around, afraid of what he might see. A poor innocent she-elf lying on the ground.

"_Mmmh,"_

Fenris' ears nearly twitched as he thought he heard a moaning like noise from behind him; he quickly shook his head in response, thinking that his distraught mind was playing tricks on him.

"_Mmmh,"_

Fenris raised his head as a second moan became audible, making him immediately realize that he didn't imagine it and turned around to see Merrill struggling to bring herself up in a sitting position.

Fenris simply stared at the elf; completely paralyzed as he watched her silently put on hand underneath her body to support herself as she put her wobbly legs beneath herself in order to stand, only for her knees to give out on her.

Fenris finally managed to take control of his body as he walked over to where she laid to help her up.

"You okay?" Fenris asked tentatively as he held her hands to keep her steady, still weak on her footing as she was.

"I'm fine, I mean my head hurts, but I think I'm… oh!" Merrill stopped in midsentence as she noticed that she was touching the lyrium on his hands, Fenris looked down at their intertwined Fingers, that same warm feeling coursing through him as he did.

"I'm so sorry, I must be hurting you," Merrill apologized as she withdrew her hands from his own. Fenris continued to stare at his hands as he felt deprived of the warmth. He looked up from his hands and at the she-elf that had been the source of this new feeling. And as he did he vaguely noticed a knotting in his stomach and his throat going dry.

"We should be going now," Merrill stated calmly albeit groggily from the head injury she sustained. She then made her way to the statue. Once she reached it she called Fenris over to give her a boost. Fenris silently obliged as he walked over and cupped his hands before her as she put her hands on his should and her foot is the little platform made by his hands. Fenris nearly forgot himself as the warmth returned; only to feel cold again as Merrill broke contact to climb up onto the statue's arm.

Fenris quickly grabbed his sword from the Vartarrel corpse and made his way back to the statue to followed suit after Merrill. Without the adrenaline of the Vartarrel chase to numb his body, Fenris' side hurt as he made his way up. But he gritted his way through as and managed to reach the opening.

His eyes hurt as mid-morning sun greeted him, it took a moment for his sight to adjust but when they did he saw Merrill standing before him with a sad and guilty look on her face as she said apologetically, "I'm so sorry for all this Fenris,"

"About what?" Fenris asked in confusion.

"About everything that's happened," Merrill elaborated, "had I not distracted you all the way back in Kirkwall during that fight, you wouldn't have been captured, and for getting us sidetracked with the elven ruins,"

Fenris simply stared at her as he digested this information. He then thought about how he told Thakhor that he blamed Merrill for all the bad luck they've been through for the past month.

"Merrill," Fenris said to get her attention, "I probably would have been captured whether you showed up or not, in fact, had you not have gotten captured with me, I might never have even gotten off that ship, if anything I should be the one sorry for putting you down all the time and blaming you for the bad things that happened to us,"

Fenris looked into Merrill's eyes for a response. He noticed that those giant green orbs began to water up; making him think that he said something wrong, then she smiled.

And Fenris couldn't help but smile back.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity of just standing and looking at each other, it was Merrill that spoke up, "I do believe south is that way," she said sheepishly with a raised finger before heading in that direction.

"Lead on," Fenris said with a wave of his hand, Merrill then turned and began to walk in the general direction of south, her eyes lingering on his as long as possible as she did so.

Fenris soon followed his companion.

_**Author's note:**_

**I know what you guys are thinking, 'Why, oh why do you tease us so, finally hinting at romance actually budding between them without anything (Of any kind) actually happening?' Two reasons my friends. Reason #1: I'm still trying to build up the amount of quantity I had before my Hiatus, where my chapters reached and succeeded 5,000 words, while still keep the higher quality writing I've managed to achieve over said Hiatus. Reason #2: I really want to build things up a little slowly, but I promise, things will get even better within the next few chapters. There is however, a little nod to the first chapter at the end of this one, and I think it really shows how far Fenris has come in his opinion of Merrill.**

**Until next time. :P**


	16. Of Ash and Rain

**Chapter 15**

"I think it might rain soon," Merrill stated as she and Fenris made their way to the clearing; the sky grey with dark clouds becoming visible as they made their way south.

Fenris glanced up at the looming clouds and gave a shrug, "It's late autumn, so it will almost certainly snow,"

"Pessimist,"

"What?" Fenris asked as he tore his eyes from the sky and stared at the Dalish that was glancing back at him from over her shoulder.

Merrill gave a smirk, "You know what I said,"

"Yes, I do, I am just wondering what being a pessimist has to do with the weather?" Fenris elaborated.

"Because, if it snowed, then we would freeze are toes off, if it rains, we will only get wet. So I'm hoping that it will rain and we only get wet, yet you're certain it will snow and we will freeze our toes off, thus, you are a pessimist, and I'm an optimist," Fenris was taken aback at the mage's perception, except for one thing.

"That's called be a realist," Fenris stated simply.

"Tomato tomoto," Merrill stated in what Fenris was certain was a teasing tone, "Sometimes you need to have a little faith that things won't be so bad as you initially think,"

"That is being naïve,"

"That is having faith, Fenris,"

"Faith gets you killed,"

"Without faith, we never take risks, surely you must have some faith that slavers will stop hunting you someday," Merrill reasoned, "You must have at least have had faith that you'd be free when you escaped Danarius,"

"Because I am certain that I will escape, evade, or kill any slavers that Danarius sends after me."

"We can never be certain of anything Fenris, that is what Faith is for," Merrill then turned her head forward and continued on through the clearing.

V

"AARRRGHH!" Hawke angrily smashed his boot into a random piece of charred wood that used to be a part of a support beam to the Inn that once stood in the middle of the small town he and everyone else now occupied. The place was now nothing but a smoldering pile of charred wood and ash that cut the row of buildings on the east side of the main road at the middle. Hawke, Varric and everyone else had asked around town about some travelling elves, and had actually met an elven farm hand named Vear, who told them about a pair fitting their descriptions passing through town and stopping at the Inn whose ruins they now stood in. The group searched through the wreckage until they found what Anders was able to identify with some magic that it was a piece of burnt spirit hide.

"Hawke…" Isabela began in a tone that was sad and cautious, completely different from the suave and seductive tones her voice usually holds, "This spirit hide doesn't really mean anythi-

"Who else do you know wears spirit hide Isabela?" Hawke interrupted; his voice as sharp as the dagger he keeps in his boot, "Fenris was here, which means that Merrill was here!"

"But that doesn't mean that they died here!" Anders butted in before Hawke could continue.

Hawke simply turned his head away from Anders, he didn't know what to think, they were running out of leads quickly; and what few they could follow led them to the giant pile of ash they now stood in. the locals say that they building burned down a few days ago. Which meant one of three possibilities: either they got away, which seemed the most unlikely in Hawke's mind, they died in the fire, or they got captured by the slavers again, which would mean that they are on their way to Tevinter as they stood in the ash, Hawke didn't know which of the scenarios was the right one, or which of the last two he feared most.

The champion than heard someone muttering under their breath. Hawke looked around to find Sebastian with his hands together in a Chantry prayer.

"She's not Andrastian you bastard!" Hawke bellowed at the top of his lungs before he unsheathed the dagger in his boot and charged with every intention of stabbing the zealot prince, only to be stopped by Anders and Isabela grabbing onto the champion to try and hold him in place.

"Hawke calm down!" Anders ordered as he struggled to hold the larger man in place.

Hawke didn't hear the healer though, for he simply spat at Sebastian's feet before yelling, "You want to pray for her, you had better give a Dalish rite!"

"I don't know any Dalish rites," Sebastian admitted coldly, holding Hawke's cruel gaze.

"Then you shouldn't have been praying at all!" Hawke yelled at the top of his lungs, his rage bubbling over as he struggled against the pirate and the healer still holding onto his arms.

"Hawke, calm down now!" Isabela demanded.

"Shut up whore!" Hawke growled as he shoved his elbow in the pirate's face, loosening her grip on him he then used his newly freed arm to punch Anders in the gut and shoved him aside as well.

Free of his restraints, Hawke charged Sebastian. The prince quickly sidestepped the champion, causing him to stumble as his momentum fought against him. Once he regained his stability, Garret Hawke charged again with his dagger poised and ready.

Sebastian jumped back as Hawke slashed wildly, barely dodging the madman's swings as he did so. The prince was so focused on avoiding that vicious blade of Hawke's that he tripped on a piece of charred wood that hadn't completely turned to ash and fell on his back.

Taking the opportunity, the champion placed his boot in Sebastian's chest to pin him down. He then knelt down on one knee as he raised his dagger, ready to murder the exiled prince with on swift stab.

But he never got the chance.

An crossbow bolt flew into his shoulder, causing him to howl in pain and drop the dagger; Sebastian then used all his strength to shove him off, making the champion fall on his back in the process.

But Hawke wasn't finished just yet. He quickly pulled himself up and ripped the bolt from his shoulder; ignoring the pain, he used his good arm to unsheathe his sword and charged Sebastian yet again. The prince quickly unsheathed his own dagger and dodged the champions strong swing and took a quick slash at Hawke's face as he did so, the blade cutting across his face.

Hawke stumbled to the ground and dropped his sword to clutch his face in agony, completely defeated.

Sebastian tried to steady his heart rate; the adrenaline from the fight still pumping through his veins. He looked to Hawke who was still on the ground clutching his bloodied face as he said through exhaustion fuelled pants, "I wasn't praying for Merrill, I was praying for you! We never saw eye to eye, but I knew you an honorable man worthy of the title champion before all this! I was praying that your anger wouldn't get the better of you! But I was wrong to for you've already succumbed to it!"

Sebastian then stopped to look around to see Anders healing Isabela's broken nose, and at Varric who held Bianca; the dwarf's expression sad and grim as he silently turned around and walked away. He was then followed shortly by Anders and Isabela.

Sebastian then joined them, leaving the disgraced champion in the pile of ash.

V

Merrill was right, it did rain.

Luckily, they had reached a small woodcutter settlement, with probably no more than a hundred inhabitants. They found shelter at the local tavern, which was nothing more than a single floor building with an eating area and a corridor in the back that led to the rooms.

"Told you," Merrill beamed at Fenris as she looked through the window they currently sat by to watch the rain fall. Fenris said nothing as he watched out the window as well, watching not the rain, but an individual across the street who was putting a tarp over his shop stand to protect his merchandise, the man appeared to be a travelling Merchant form the looks of it.

"We should ask that man if he has a map of the free marches," Fenris inquired as he pointed out for Merrill to see.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Merrill asked as she stood up and headed for the door.

"Merrill?" Fenris questioned in confusion as he stood up to follow her.

"It's only a little rain Fenris," Merrill exclaimed as she head out into the pouring rain, Fenris shortly behind her.

"Merrill, we shouldn't be out here," Fenris reasoned as he stood at the edge of the overhanging roof to stay dry as Merrill danced around in the pouring rain.

"I always loved the rain, don't you?" Merrill asked in a cheerful tone as she did a twirl.

"I'll admit, I've never really given it any thought, Merrill," Fenris admitted as he watched the young elf.

"When I was just a little Da'len I would often sneak away from the keeper when she wasn't looking during a storm, she always got engrossed in her duties to never notice, and I would go play with the others in the rain," Merrill babbled as Fenris noticed a horse galloping down the road so quick that neither the rider of the horse nor Merrill could stop or get out of the way in time. So Fenris quickly reacted and reached out to grab Merrill and pull her out of the way. In the process he had caused the two elves to spin around to have Merrill pinned with her back to the wall with Fenris pressed up against her front.

The two elves froze at the realization of the position that they found themselves in. Fenris' face was mere inches from Merrill's and their bodies pressed so hard together that they could feel each other as though the rain soaked clothes they wore might not have been there at all.

The two simply stared at each other's eyes; Fenris was a few inches taller than Merrill so he had to tilt his head down ever so slightly to look straight at her eyes. Their breaths mingled as they stood there, transfixed in place, each one mesmerized by the peaceful and serene glow that seemed to resonate from the other's eyes.

Watching her face, taking in every detail that he could find, from the graceful patterns of the tattoos to the loose, wet strands of raven black hair that fell to the side of her slightly reddened cheeks; he couldn't help but have his breath taken away by her beauty. That foreign, soothing feeling that had been bothering Fenris coursed through him with an intensity that he has never felt until this moment. Before he knew it, he started leaning his face towards Merrill's. The ex-slave vaguely notices Merrill copying the same motion before he closed his eyes in a peaceful serenity that he's never experienced before.

With that a wave of freezing water crashed into the two elves that instantly shattered whatever it was that was about to happen. The tattooed warrior searched for the cause of the intrusion to find another horse galloping away.

"ah… Fenris?" Merrill asked cautiously.

Fenris turned his attention back to Merrill to see her looking up at him only with her eyes as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red from the cold, or at least that was what Fenris thought was the reason anyway.

"We should, good inside," Fenris stated as he stepped away from Merrill and headed for the tavern's main door, glancing back only long enough to see that Merrill was following him.

The two entered the tavern and stopped at the bar to order their room, before heading to the back to get out of their wet cloths. The place has nothing more than a bedroom with two beds and a bathroom adjacent to it.

"I'll wait outside to give you some privacy," Fenris quickly stated and didn't wait for a reply before he turned around and closed the door to the hall, leaving Merrill alone to change.

Fenris walked briskly yet calmly out of the tavern into the pouring rain. The elf then walked around to the back where the stables resided to get out of the rain with some privacy. The moment he reached the back wall of the structure he slammed his fist into the wood with all his might as he roared at the top of his lungs, and it wasn't from the throbbing mass of pain that had been his hand.

Fenris fell to his knees and tugged at handfuls of his white hair as the frustration poured out of him. he thought about what had almost happened; how they were so close to… _no_, he would not even think of what it was he was about to share with the Dalish mage; for it would suggest something even more horrifying for him to consider.

All this time, with the soothing touches that would come from Merrill and with him calming down when he was around her, the stolen glances, and the quickening of his heartbeat when she got near. He thought it was just a product of her magic when it intertwined with his lyrium brands; but now, after what had almost happened, Fenris was terrified that the one thing he feared the most has happening to him.

V

Merrill couldn't stop blushing; she was completely taken off guard by what had almost happened. One second she was simply dancing in the rain, then the next she was pinned against the wall by Fenris. She closed her eyes and exhaled as she remembered the feelings that coursed through her.

Everything about the interaction just felt, right; to be in his arms, his eyes looking down on her, not angered or condescending, but in a peacefulness that seemed so pure it made her stomach quiver just thinking about it. Knowing that those deep green eyes had been looking at _her_ when they emanated such warmth made her feel a way that she could only describe as melting from the inside.

And what they almost shared; Merrill couldn't stop thinking about it. The way he tilted his head and leaned down towards her, and how she just naturally, as though on instinct alone, moved her head up towards his in return.

'_We almost kissed_,' the realization suddenly appeared in her head and actually took her by surprise. She had never kissed someone before, neither received one nor given. Yet the fact that it seemed that instinct alone had almost made her share one with Fenris amazed her.

Then, as though a small, quiet voice in her head had suddenly become loud; she was immediately reminded of who Fenris was, a cold, bitter man who regularly expressed outright disgust at who she was and everything she stood for. Sure she and he had made progress in understanding each other, but she still felt uneasy around him most of the time. Fenris was, in every way, not someone Merrill would have ever expected sharing a kiss with, let alone her first one.

She leaned her back against the door as she tried to think this all through, only to come up short.

V

"What do we do now?" Isabela asked once everyone was a major ways away from the burnt out inn.

"we continue to look for Fenris and Merrill, with or without Hawke," Sebastian stated evenly as he looked back down the street where they had come from, "We ask around if anyone saw two elves taking off on their own after the fire, or taken away by the slavers. Then act accordingly,"

"What about Hawke?" Isabela questioned.

"What about Hawke?" Anders intercepted, "He's tried to kill us twice, let him rot; he can find his own way back to Kirkwall,"

"Then it's settled," Sebastian calmly stated as he headed out, "he continue without Hawke,"

_**Author's note:**_

**I hope I didn't accelerate things too quickly.**


	17. Open Your Heart And Hands My Son

**This chapter is named after a line in the song 'the humbling river' by puscifer, and yes; I know the band name sounds like a mix of the words 'pussy' and Lucifer, but bear with me. The Humbling River is without a doubt the most beautiful song in existence ****IMO**** not just because of the way it sounds, but also the multiple meanings the lyrics can have, from a desire to end segregating acts/thoughts, to trusting someone in helping you to overcome an otherwise impassible obstacle; like maybe to help a certain broody elf overcome his warring thoughts about a certain Dalish mage?**

**I wouldn't call this an appropriate song for this chapter specifically, but maybe the next chapter, I just found the one line to be appropriate for the chapter.**

**Chapter 16**

Merrill had just finished changing out of her wet clothing and into the deep green dress that Vear gave her when she heard a knocking on the door. She hesitated at the sound; both hoping and fearing that it was Fenris outside that door. She hoped it was him because a part of her, the part that had been stirred up by the kiss they almost shared, wanted to see him; another part of her was afraid of what he might say about the situation, that his angry and hateful nature would come out, and call her a monster and a temptress for seducing him.

_Bang, bang, bang. _The knocks resonated through the room sharply as Merrill walked from the bed and to the door. When she opened it she found Fenris even more soaked then before, telling Merrill that he had been out in the rain again. His snowy white locks clumped together and dripping wet as water fell to the ground between then, a droplet fell onto her bare toe, causing her to take a step back as she looked into his eyes, eyes filled to the brim with silent anger and accusation.

"Why?" Fenris said in the coldest and darkest tone she had ever heard him use. She instinctively took a step back as though the word had physically wounded her, only for him to keep at a close distance with a step of his own.

"Why what?" Merrill asked weakly; her mind going blank, only functioning enough for her to listen intently on his words while backing away from the angry elf.

"Why must you be different from the rest of those blasted mages?!" Fenris all but screamed as he swung his arm in general reference, "Why must you intoxicate me with your soothing touches that don't hurt me like they should?!"

Merrill felt the back of her lower legs bump into the bed as she heard Fenris' rants; she said the only thing she could in response, "I don't know,"

"You don't know," Fenris repeated menacingly as he stepped closer, his chest mere inches from hers. He swiftly removed one of his gauntlets and grabbed Merrill's wrist with the newly exposed hand.

"You see this?!" he shook Merrill's wrist in front of her face as he said this, "I feel no pain, I've only ever felt pain until you started touching me with your magic, and after what almost happened in front of the inn today, an 'I don't know' won't cut it Witch!"

'_SMACK'_

Fenris staggered back as he raised his hand to his cheek; it took him five whole seconds to realize that Merrill had just slapped him. He looked at the clearly pissed off Dalish mage who still had her hand raised, the palm turning a reddish hue as her nerves lit aflame from the harsh impact. Fenris raised his cheek as it burned in an unusual mixture of that strange warmth and the natural sting of the slap.

"You always think magic is the culprit don't you," Merrill said with a certainty and confidence that Fenris has never heard before, her tone venomous as she glared daggers at him with her eyes, "Because Creator's forbid, you were held captive by a cruel magister so that means that every single mage in existence is a villain too. We're people Fenris, but all you see is the magic, that because we have magic and you don't, we are evil and always will be evil, it isn't the magic that defines an individual Fenris, it's the Individual that defines the magic, but you can never see past the torture you went through even when good magic is staring you right in the face!"

Fenris was completely speechless as he stared at the usually naïve woman; and strangely enough, what she said made sense to his ears. All his life he thought that magic simply caused people to be cruel and evil, but as he looked at Merrill, really looked at her; she was nothing more than a young attractive elven woman that, for better or for worse, he had unwittingly become to rely on for the past month. It made him seem foolish in his eyes for putting her down for something she was simply born with.

Then, the stubborn part of Fenris, that part which was most ingrained into his being; began to see for what it really was: She was bewitching him through some spell! All those strange sensations coming from her whenever they touched, her sudden newfound ability to make him second guess his most deeply rooted beliefs, him now thinking of her as a sweet hearted woman first and a blood mage second, when it was the reverse that is true.

He then remembered that time with the blood mage mother with the undead children, during that fight Merrill had to cast a blood spell on him to break the hold the crazed woman had on him with a mind control of her own. What if she never fully broke the hold she put on him, what if she was discreetly influencing his thoughts and senses for her own agenda.

She was controlling him.

She was _enslaving _him.

"You… you had better break this hold on me!" Fenris growled like his namesake, "or I will tear your heart out!"

Then quicker than Merrill could anticipate, Fenris charged her as he activated his Lyrium brands, shoving his gloveless hand into her chest, just above her breast, and wrapped his fingers around the pulsating organ. Merrill had stumbled back and fell on her back on the bed with Fenris now atop her, his fist in her chest as he glared murder at her.

Fenris watched as pure horror engulfed her features. She remained perfectly still even as her heart pulsed a mile a second. The male elf couldn't help but smile sadistically as he leaned his mouth to her ear and whisper, "Don't like it when someone else holds your life in their hands?"

Merrill gave a shaking nod of her head, her voice completely paralyzed with fear.

"Good, cause that is what it felt like to be enslaved to Danarius," he grumbled into her ear, "I will sooner die, then let anyone do that to me again, especially a stupid, Naïve, blood mage like you,"

"I'm… sorry," Merrill gasped, as though she was afraid that speaking might kill her.

Fenris' anger boiled again as he squeezed just a little tighter on her heart, making her gasp in pain, "I don't want your apology; I want you to break whatever spell you have on me!"

"I'm not 'gasp' bewitching you," Merrill pleaded, tears running down her face in a mixture of fear and sadness, "I would never 'gasp' do that to you, please 'gasp' you must believe me, Fenris,"

Fenris wanted nothing more than you squeeze a little harder, knowing that that was all it would take to finish her off. Her heart would crush and she would die by internal bleeding. But he somehow couldn't bring himself to do it. He felt that sensation on him as he had his hand around her heart. A gentle warmth that seemed to almost loll him to a peaceful state, even as his anger warred with it and demanded him to finish the job. He thought about his and Merrill's journey to get back to Kirkwall, how she had helped him escape that slaver ship, how she helped him fight those giant spiders at the farm, and how if she _hadn't_ put that spell on him that they'd both be dead.

His mind then drifted to that time she was burying the apple seeds for those who died on the slave ship, he still remembers that song she sung, how he knew that no spell was cast, yet he felt that same feeling anyway.

Slowly, he removed his hand from around her heart and withdrew it from her chest. Merrill then breathed a sigh of relief.

Fenris starred at her as she continued to breathe exhaustedly, her cheeks stained with tears and her brow covered with sweat. He just simply watched as he took in the sight of her, for once truly seeing her for who she was without any conflicting thoughts. He didn't see her has a blood mage obsessed with power, but as a young and kind woman.

That stubborn part of him still ordered him to kill her, but he simply put those thoughts into the darkest recesses of his mind as her eyes suddenly locked onto his. Those beautiful orbs of green expressing so much; fear and caution at first, but they soon relaxed as she realized that he wasn't going to hurt him.

After a few moments of just looking into each other's eyes, Merrill then broke eye contact to look around, seeing that they were still on the bed with Fenris still atop her. Her cheeks began to redden in what Fenris was now completely certain a blush.

Once their eyes locked gazes again, Fenris saw nothing in those eyes but soothing warmth and lidded longing. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, as though to say something, but Fenris didn't give her a chance to say whatever she wanted to as he brought his lips to hers in a tender kiss filled with longing and desire.

_**Author's note:**_

**I think You guys and gals might already know what will be next, but please bear with me in the long wait that will most likely follow this chapter and proceed the next one, I've only ever written THAT type of scene twice and I want this one to be as perfect as I can make it.**


	18. Author's note: Remember Hatsepsut!

**In the light of my friend and fellow author Hatsepsut getting her profile deleted by some illiterate f***er for having smut in her brilliantly written stories, I am taking the safe route and deleting this particular chapter in order to make it M rated by this site's standards. All that is really needed to be known in this chapter is that Fenris and Merrill start to fall in love in this chapter and that they share a bed (Hence the MA content that needed to be deleted).**

**I personally think that MA content should be properly implemented into the site; and as such have started a petition of sorts on my profile page in the form of a Poll that I call 'Remember Hatsepsut'. All I ask of you is to vote your opinion on MA content and then, if you picked: 'Yes, this site should condone MA content', to set up a copy of my poll on your profile page to spread the word. It would mean the world to me and my friend if you did. This site is made up of a great community of author's and readers, and some of the best stories on this site just happen to have MA content in them anyway, just to have them deleted by illiterate's that don't respect an author's hard work.**


	19. Calm before the Storm

**Over one hundred reviews, thirty favorites, and fifty-five followers at the time of this chapter! When I started this story four months shy of two years ago it was intended as a side project to the now dead 'Odyssey of the Wolf', at the time I had literally NO idea the loyal following it would receive. To give you an idea, 'The Kitten and The Wolf' had only around fifty reviews and maybe three consistent reviewers by the time I reached this same numbered chapter.**

**I'd also call this a milestone for Fenrill in general, this being the first story to reach the triple digits in reviews shows that people out there aren't all about Fenris/Anders/F!Hawke/M!Hawke. When I started writing stories, I had a mission to promote a more diverse pool of stories in this fandom, and I feel that I've achieved that to some extent, by how much I don't know, but I know it's there.**

**I'd also like to promote Snoweria's own Fenrill 'Providence', for those of you who don't know who she (I think she's a she) is; she's one of my most faithful readers who finally had the confidence to post one of her own stories. I find it quite intriguing and the main plot hasn't fully started yet.**

**Speaking of snoweria, she posted a very important question about the last chapter of V&L**

**Snoweria: "****Though one thing I want to know... How is it that Fenris is so experienced? I thought he hates being touched and the other way round?"**

**The answer to your question Snoweria is one I didn't want to answer; for the answer was suggested in the game based on an interpretation of some dialogue in the third act, specifically during Fenris' final companion mission.**

**So in this chapter you'll find the answer, I didn't want to answer it, but I felt I had to.**

**Chapter 18**

"Are you sure this will work Blondie?" Varric asked as he watched Anders prepare the bizarre ritual, the healer had the shred of Fenris' spirit hide, the piece no larger than a napkin, tied to a sting on the end of his staff while holding a medium sized vial filled with a clear liquid underneath the dangling hide.

"Yes Varric, I'm quite sure this will work," the mage responded without take his eyes from the hide.

"Well can you at least explain to me what it is that you're doing? You know, for the less magically knowledgeable," Isabela questioned as she leaned up against the city wall that the companions now occupied.

"The thing you got to understand is the spirit, they aren't anything like us, were our own consciousness is isolated from our bodies and only occupies our minds, a spirit _is_ consciousness, every bit of it is the mind that controls it, unlike you or me where our bodies are controlled by a select region in ourselves," Anders explained as he summoned an isolation spell from the staff to the hide before submerging the hide in the clear liquid of the vial, "because of this, every part of the spirit is the whole of the spirit, it's memories, it's instinct, it's power, is contained within all the separate 'parts' as though it were whole, because it already is whole,"

"Okay? And what does this have anything to do with finding Fenris and Merrill?" Sebastian questioned skeptically.

"I'm getting to that!" Anders scolded as he removed the spirit hide from the liquid, which had taken on a light blue glow, "because of this, the spirit hide that we have here has a conscience, albeit in a state that isn't unlike a coma so the hide can be used as armor and not kill the wearer, and it will want to return to the rest of itself if woken up,"

"And the rest of it is with Fenris," Varric finished, having put the pieces of the conversation together, "So it will lead us right to him,"

"Exactly," Anders said as he put a stopper on the vial before tying the vial to his staff, "now because the spirit is in fact whole in here, it could attack us if it wanted, so I've syphoned and diluted its conscience in this potion so it can't attack, but still be able to hunt down the rest of the spirit,"

After that, Anders performed a healing spell on the vial, awakening the spirit. The moment he did, the vial literally pulled itself in the general direction of south and seemingly defying gravity, stopping only because of the taut string that attached it to Anders staff.

"And that my friends," Anders proclaimed proudly, "is the direction that Fenris and Merrill went,"

As the four allies made their way south, no one noticed the figure watching them from a distance.

V

Fenris had never felt more at peace then he did right now; curled up in a bundle of warm skin and soft cloth with Merrill.

All his life he's been running from his past, trying to avoid its horrors. He had spent so much time running that he never bothered to think of where he was going or where he was. He had fought so hard to find a life that he could define for himself that he never thought of what that life would actually consist of. In Kirkwall he had joined Hawke's strange group to both keep himself preoccupied and make some coin while doing it. At other times he would simply lounge about his stolen mansion drinking his sorrows away, all the while waiting for Danarius to come search for him himself so he could finally bury the past.

But he never planned ahead to see what life AFTER Danarius' death would be like.

To say that he had it all figured out would be a gross overstatement; but as he held the sleeping Dalish elf in his arms, he knew that he couldn't properly think of a time without her now in any capacity.

He took a deep breath that furthered his calm state. He just wanted to remain in this spot where it was just him and Merrill, the rest of the world could just be an illusion as far was he was concerned.

Fenris absently rubbed her arm from her shoulder to her elbow, caught in a rhythmic bliss as her skin radiated warmth into his being from where they made contact. Once he heard a sweet yawn, he looked down to see her gem like eyes open up blearily before focusing on him. Her expression grew lax as she whispered, "good morning,"

"It is a good one, isn't it?" Fenris replied with a warm smirk, "Not as good as last evening though,"

Merrill couldn't help blushing at that as she remembered the lovemaking, the way he made her feel was still something she couldn't fully believe, but as she felt the warmth coming from his skin she knew it was all real.

Then a something occurred to her.

"Fenris?" Merrill asked cautiously.

"Yes Merrill?"

Merrill gulped hard as she thought of how to ask this question, before deciding that being blunt would be best "Have you ever been with another?"

Fenris' eyes bulged at the question, before shakily asking, "What makes you think that?"

"Well… uh… your experience?" Merrill blushed again, but this time from embarrassment. She watched as Fenris' eyes went distant, thinking back to a time that, from the look on his face, wasn't at all pleasant. Once he finally snapped back to the present, he looked at her in shame.

"Danarius… preferred the company of elves to his own race," Fenris finally admitted, he then turned his gaze away from her, too ashamed to look her in the eye having revealed his greatest shame. He felt her arms slip around his abdomen as she squeezed him tight to reassure him.

"I'm so sorry Fenris… had I known," Fenris turned his gaze back to her and placed his hands on either side of her face as he looked into her eyes longingly.

"Merrill, what matters is that I chose you, for in my eyes, _you_ are my first," he then leaned forward to kiss her passionately on the lips, a sweet and simple kiss, but one that spoke louder and more truly then any words could ever say.

The two elves held each other for a little while longer in peaceful silence before reluctantly getting out of bed to get dressed. After that they headed to the main dining area and had breakfast as they discussed their next move.

"We should get those maps from the street vendor, if he's still out there," Fenris had reasoned as they finished up there meal and headed out into the street to get the maps.

When the two walked out, the ground was soaked from the previous rain and the air smelled musky from the humidity. Even then, it was a strangely pleasant smell to Fenris, pure and natural, if nothing else.

The map didn't cost that much, only five silvers, and when they looked up the maps they found their location and deduced that if they travelled south east they should be able to reach Kirkwall in five days on foot, if no delays pestered them.

So they gathered up their supplies and headed out to leave the settlement behind them, the fact that they were so close to home gave them a renewed vigor. The fact that they haven't encountered the slavers since the farming town eased their worries as well.

V

The two elves travelled along the south-eastern dirt road for the better part of the day, stopping only once to have lunch at noon before quickly breaking camp and heading out again. They chatted little, mostly just focusing on covering as much distance as possible before nightfall.

Of course that didn't mean the occasional stolen glance didn't occur between them.

As it entered early evening, Fenris suggested finding a nice defendable place off road to camp; so the two slowed their pace as they scanned through the trees and shrubbery for a nice spot. While Fenris searched he would regularly glance back to Merrill to both make sure she was okay and to simply admire her before turning back to his search.

After a few minutes of searching, Fenris moved through a particularly thick brush of shrubbery and found a sloped decline that led to a nice and hidden depression to camp up in.

It was then that Fenris heard the scream…

_**Author's note:**_

**Sorry for the short chapter, I just wanted to get an update, the next one will be longer I promise.**


	20. Severed Hope part I

**Whoa, an update within a few days,**

**I'd promise you it would be longer, just not much longer, besides, I think quality over quantity really matters in this chapter. **

**But first: go to Youtube, Grooveshark, or some other website and type in Goodbye brother, Game of Thrones OST, hit play and return to this story and read. You'll find Goodbye Brother to be EXTREMELY appropriate for this chapter not only in the somber notes of the musical masterpiece, but also in its origination to the hit series Game of Thrones.**

**I blame Jamie Lannister. . .**

**Chapter 19**

"MERRILL!?" Fenris howled at the top of his lungs as he heard the scream coming off from the distance, he charged in the general direction of where the scream originated with his sword draw. His mind was running faster than his feet as he thought of what would cause his mage to scream in what sounded like pain. At last he quickly burst through the shrubbery and back onto the main road to find a site that took him a delayed second to fully comprehend.

A few charred bodies lay scattered on the road, the shattered staff among them told him that Merrill had used magic to dispose of the individuals that now marked the ground; but that wasn't what he was focused on.

Standing among the carnage was Merrill being restrained by two of Leotok's slavers, each on holding an arm as another slaver, which Fenris recognized as Wendell, held her from behind with a knife against her throat. The perverted slaver had severe scar damage on the left side of his face and something pale and bloody in his teeth, Fenris glanced at the right side of Merrill's head which was covered in blood and he immediately knew what had happened.

Wendell had bitten Merrill's ear off.

Fenris roared in a primal hatred he had never felt before in his entire life, his markings flared like a comet as he poised himself ready to charge in with reckless abandon, he would cut through the slavers that stood between him and the ear-bitter, he wouldn't rip the monster's heart out, no, he would tear out every single one of his organs and shove it down his throat until he choked to death.

"Unless you want Wendell to take a larger piece out of your companion, you'll stand down," Fenris heard Leotok's voice from behind him, forcing his tunnel vision brought on by his rage to dissipate and noticed that at least five other slavers had walked out into the clearing, all their weapons drawn.

"Let her go," Fenris demanded as he lowered his sword to the ground, he didn't even bother to turn and look at the leader as he said this.

"You're not in a place to make demands Fenris," Leotok said as he as he walked around the former slave to look him square in the eye, "You're outnumbered, and we got a hostage who's throat we will slit in a heartbeat if you make the wrong move, and you just dropped your defense," The slaver then quickly hooked his boot around Fenris' ankle and tripped him up before quickly stomping his foot on the elf's chest, knocking the wind out of him as he did.

Fenris made no move to fight back; he just kept his sight on his pain stricken Merrill.

"Stop it!" Merrill pleaded, as she did so Wendell pressed the knife a little closer to the Dalish' throat, any closer and the knife would taste blood.

"You got me," Fenris said after regaining some of his breath, "I'll come quietly if you just let her go, she was never a part of this," Fenris tried to reason with the slaver as he tried to stand up again, only for the slaver to kick him in the ribs.

"She's not part of the hunt; you're right about that Fenris." Leotok then pulled out a hatchet and stomped on Fenris' wrist before kneeling down, "But in the several weeks that we've been tasked with hunting you, we've lost a ship full of potential slaves, had some of my best men murdered, and tirelessly hunted you two halfway across the free marches,"

Fenris tried desperately to phase his right wrist through the man's boot to no avail as the slaver stated menacingly, "This isn't about the Hunt anymore Fenris, it's about revenge." With that Leotok then brought the hatchet down, severing Fenris' pinned hand.

The howl of pain and horror that followed could be heard for miles around.

_Two days later…_

Merrill tugged at her chains absently as they continued on west, the slavers had escorted them back to the woodcutter settlement and bought out the all the horses at the local stables as well as a wagon to put the two elves on, then they travelled on through the road heading to Cumberland where the imperial highway turned north through the free marches then across the Minanter river before going straight through the Silent Plains all the way up to Tevinter.

The Dalish turned her attention back to Fenris, who sat beside her. His left wrist was bound by a chain that reached up and wrapped around his throat while his severed stub was loosely bandaged and hanged limply at his side, Merrill worried that it might get infected if not properly treated.

But that wasn't what worried Merrill the most.

It truly shattered her heart to see the look in Fenris' eyes, for they appeared dead, empty, devoid of life in a way that was so complete that they seemed to only belong to a corpse, perhaps she wasn't that far off. Merrill knew that the loss of his hand didn't just remove his sword fighting skills; it removed his hope, his one ace up his sleeve that assured him that he'd never return to Danarius, his ability to stop all slavers that would come after him, and insure his continued freedom. Now that he was without his fighting skills, he was no longer Fenris, a free slave who could deny his Former master's desire to bring him back, he was but a shadow of that man, a broken, hollow shadow that had lost all hope.

So Merrill took it upon herself to be his hope.

She looked around at all the slavers, taking in their numbers and weapons, they only counted nine now, having lost so many men to the fight at the tavern. Two of them sat in the wagon with them with their hands on their sword hilts, ready to attack if they tried anything. Two more sat up front, one of them being Wendell. The others road on horseback with two in front of the horse-drawn wagon and one on either side, with Leotok riding on a horse behind the wagon, making sure that he can see everything.

Merrill knew that the tall slaver posed the greatest threat, for she knew what he was, why Fenris couldn't phase through her, and way she was unable to use blood magic when Wendell bit her ear off.

Leotok was a Templar.

It all made sense now, way they were able to track them, why Fenris' lyrium abilities were unable to affect him, he had to of had Templar training in dispelling magic, and Merrill wouldn't be surprised if he had a vial of Fenris' blood to make a phylactery, possibly a gift from Danarius himself. Merrill was completely certain that he at least knew the Templars smite ability, for Merrill felt her connection to the fade sever when he showed up, and it would explain his immunity to Fenris' abilities because his Lyrium draws power from the fade, so he could simply cut off Fenris' own unique connect to the dimension to remove his powers.

It was getting late, so the slavers decided to make camp alongside the road. Once the camp was properly set up they dragged Fenris and Merrill off of the wagon and had their ankles chained together so they couldn't run away. Shortly after that their captors started a campfire and cooked some stew over the fire. They even gave some to the two elves, just so that they could stay alive for the journey ahead of course.

"Oi, eat you filth!" Merrill looked up from her half eaten stew to see one of the slavers yelling at Fenris who simply sat there with the bowl in his remaining hand, his expression as empty as before, Merrill wasn't even entirely sure that the elf knew what was happening around him.

"You think the knife-ear forgot how to eat?" another slaver asked dimwittedly.

"Perhaps we should remind him?" Wendell suggested as he walked over to the elf, took the bowl from Fenris' hand without protest, and proceeded to pour its contents over his head; the broken elf remained unmoving as the warm slop ran down his head and onto his shoulders, the broth turning his white hair a murky brown.

Merrill could only watch in sadness as the slavers howled in mocking laughter at him.

"hehe, he looks mighty filthy," a different slaver said as he stood up and walked over to the elf and proceeded to unfasten his belt and trousers, "Here, let me clean him up,"

The slaver then pissed on Fenris' head, causing the slavers to break out in laughter again.

V

Later that night, when all but the three slavers who were on watch duty went to sleep, Merrill scooted next to Fenris and put a bowl of stew between them, she then took a spoonful of the slop to Fenris' mouth, coaxing him to eat something.

"Fenris, please eat," Merrill whispered, and for the first time in forty-eight hours, Fenris responded by turning his gaze over to look at her, his eyes finally showing some expression.

Hopelessness.

Merrill didn't know if she feared the empty expression or the hopeless one more, but she was grateful to have gotten a response, knowing that he wasn't completely lost to her, "please, you must eat if we're to survive,"

At that Fenris simply turned his gaze back to look out at nothing. Merrill's shoulders slumped as she saw how easy it was for her to lose him again; but she wasn't going to give up, she was stubborn like that, one of the few personality traits she and Fenris share.

She then placed the spoon in front of Fenris' mouth again, "You must eat,"

Nothing.

Merrill, in desperation, put the spoon in her own mouth, chewed the contents a little bit, and then grabbed Fenris' head and placed her lips to his, forcing the stew into his mouth as she did so. When she pulled away she still saw only an empty expression; and still Fenris refused to swallow, the contents of the stew even dripping out of the corners of his mouth. So Merrill grabbed his chin, and forced his head back to make him swallow.

Merrill continued this grueling process until all the stew was gone.

Once she had completed her task, she looped her arms up and over his head and pulled him into an embrace to hold her hopeless lover, his head resting on her shoulder as she rocked them both back and forth in an attempt to comfort him. When Merrill felt tears running down his cheeks and onto her shoulder she placed the side of her head, the one that still had an ear, to his head and whispered sweet nothings into his ear, mostly promises of always being with him, of her never giving up on him, and never letting him go again.

She did that until he cried himself into a fitful sleep.

_**Author's Note:**_

**And let the hate mail commence.**

watch?v=NCW3RdUiYYQ

**Also, I've started up a new poll on my profile page, It's literally completely unrelated to V&L, but I'm simply curious.**


	21. Severed Hope Part II

**Yep, another one, and I nice lengthy one at that.**

**I would like to thank everyone for reacting, not as I'd expect, but much more understandingly about my harsh torment of Fenris and Merrill, especially Fenris in particular. I will tell you, we are on the final stretch of this story. Whether that story ends happily ever after or in tragedy, is a bit 50/50 right now, so stay on your toes by faithful readers, because you are now at the full mercy of my twisted, bipolar muse. And he's hungry for suspense.**

**Chapter 19 Part II**

They continued back on the road shortly before daybreak. The slavers took their usual positions around the wagon as Merrill continued to think of an escape plan for her and Fenris, only to come up short every time.

For starters, she had no idea how to get out of the chains, the ones holding her legs were too close for a proper run and the ones on her wrists had some magic sapping runes engraved that prevented her from casting spells. Also, two of the slavers were armed with crossbows, and could likely take them both out with ease. Lastly, Merrill's worries about Fenris' wound became true, it got infected and whatever he caught was now coursing through him now, his whole body would often tilt in exhaustion before he quickly righted himself, only to start tilting again. He would regularly give wet, violent coughs often ending with him doubling over and vomit, and eventually dry heave when his stomach grew empty of even bile to regurgitate. Merrill prayed not only to the Creator's, but to the human and dwarven deities as well, that their friends were looking for them and that Anders could heal whatever was Fenris caught before it was too late.

It was at that moment that Fenris fell limp out of the wagon and into the dirt.

"Hold up!" everyone stopped at Leotok's order, Merrill stared in shocked silence as Fenris laid on the ground motionless, not curtain if he is still alive or not.

"Henrik, check up on him," Leotok ordered one of the slavers who sat on the wagon. Henrik hopped off the wagon and walked over to the still form; kneeling down and moving Fenris face up.

Then everything happened at once.

Fenris shot his eyes opened as he used his limited reach from his bound hand and grabbed Henrik by the collar and swiftly head-butted the slaver so hard the man fell over unconscious. The sick and wounded elf then stood up and unsheathed the fallen slaver's short sword and held it out in as good a fighting stance as he could muster with his ankles shackled and wrist chained to his neck.

Even Merrill, who wasn't trained in swordsmanship, could tell that his stance was sloppy at best; he was still tilting violently with the weapon in his non-dominant hand, and his legs appeared wobbly as though they couldn't properly support his own weight. His eyes appeared wild and savage, like a wounded animal that would rather go down fighting then quietly.

And that was what scared Merrill the most; that he probably wasn't planning on winning.

The other slavers didn't make a move as they watched either in open defiance or indifference to the armed warrior who spun around madly, expecting an attack from every angle that never came.

"COME ON!" Fenris bellowed with a broken voice that was equal parts demanding and pleading as he scanned the unmoving slavers with unfocused eyes, "FIGHT ME!"

Leotok released an apathetic sigh before saying, "Oblige him, but don't kill him," it was then that two of the slavers dismounted their horses and armed themselves with batons, wooden bludgeoning tools used by slavers to beat uncooperative slaves without killing them, and charged the mad elf.

Fenris managed to block one of the slavers blows with the short sword, but the baton wielding adversary immediately delivered a hard punch to Fenris' face; the simple attack alone causing him to stumble back and almost fall back to the ground. He righted himself at the last minute though and did a charge of his own coupled with a swing; but the short chain that still connected his wrist to his neck wasn't long enough for him to outstretch his arm all the way so he came up short of connect the attack.

Before he could recover from the swing one of the slavers wacked him across the face with the wooden tool and sent him tumbling to the ground. The slavers then proceeded to beat him while he was down a bit more before Leotok ordered them to stop.

The slaver leader dismounted himself and walked over to the pain-addled elf and picked him up by the collar so he could look him in the eye, "Try that again, and I'll cut your other hand off, but this time, I'll remove it finger by finger," to accentuate his point, Leotok held his hatchet for Fenris to see, the elf's dried blood still stained against the metal.

He then shoved Fenris to the ground, "Get him back on the wagon," he then started his way back to his horse as he added, "And someone wake up Henrik,"

V

The companions continued to run with ever greater haste.

They worked themselves to near physical exhaustion for nearly three days, stopping only for a light afternoon meal or when someone collapsed from exhaustion, at which Anders would simply cast a quick heal spell and give them a stamina draught to regain their energy.

Once the sun reached its pinnacle in the sky on the third day, Sebastian suggested that they take a break.

"We can't just stop," Anders reasoned as he held up the vial, "We're getting closer to Fenris and Merrill,"

"Anders, we're exhausted, and if we are catching up to them, then we can risk taking a break," Isabela explained as she leaned her hands on her knees to take a breath. Anders knew they were right, one couldn't just run off of stamina drought and one meal a day, so he relented.

And so the companions started to set up camp for the day. Varric held guard in case of any trouble as Sebastian took inventory of their food rations, which only consisted of mutton and stale bread. Anders and Isabela decided to go look for some firewood to help cook the meat.

"This has been an exhausting month," Isabela commented as they started their way back with an armful of firewood each.

"No kidding," Anders agreed.

A moment of silence passed between the two before Anders broke the quiet, "What do you intend to do when we get back to Kirkwall?"

"mmm… a bath,"

"A bath?" Anders asked in shock, knowing the pirates personal lack of personal hygiene.

"Hey, just because I don't take care of my hygiene doesn't mean I don't have a bath every now and then," Isabela reasoned, "besides, this travelling on the road has, made me have dirt in all manner of places

Before Anders could stop himself, he asked, "Need any help?"

"What?" the rogue questioned, not having fully heard what the mage said.

"Need any help… with the bath?" Anders asked sheepishly as his cheeks turned red and Justice voiced his disapproval in his head.

"Mmm, my backside could use a good _cleaning_," Isabela said seductively as she gave a wink to the lovesick healer before quickly stopping in her tracks.

"Bela?" Anders asked, only for the pirate to shush him up as she indicated a nearby bush.

The two slowly and quietly put the firewood down and readied their weapons. They stealthily moved over to the bush in question and Isabela quickly jabbed the hilt of her dagger into the shrubbery, getting a satisfactory 'oof' in response.

Throwing all caution to the wind, the healer and the pirate dropped their weapons and reached into the bush; dragging a dazed Hawke out of the shrubbery in the process.

"Ouch! That really hurt!" Hawke said as the other two watched in stunned believe that the psychopath had apparently followed them even after everything that he's done to them.

"You got ten seconds to explain yourself before we gut you like a fish!" Anders threatened.

"Okay, okay," Hawke insisted as he pulled his hood down, getting a shocked gasp from Isabela as his face was reveal.

Anders knew that Sebastian had taken a swing at Hawke to defend himself, but he never saw the damage, a nasty and poorly treated cut ran vertical from his forehead, through his eye, which was no longer there, over his cheek and split his lip, the wound giving him a perpetual smile like look as teeth was visible under the cut in the lip.

"Andraste's charred ovaries," Anders muttered under his breath as he observed the damage.

"Nasty I know," Hawke replied, "but it made me realize how foolish I've been, I was an obsessed psycho,"

"That's putting it mildly," Isabela retorted coldly.

"I literally have no idea what is wrong with me," Hawke admitted before turning his full gaze on Anders, "any suggestions doc?"

Anders thought for a few minutes before he came up with a possible answer, "It's possible you are suffering Post-Traumatic Stress,"

"PTS?" Hawke question in confusion.

"You said you developed feelings for Merrill after your mother died right?" Hawke nodded, "Well you lost everyone in your family Hawke, that can cause a lot of stress and guilt, perhaps you subconsciously see Merrill as an attempt to have something similar to what you lost, and your mind can't handle the thought of losing someone you value closely again,"

"And it made me a crazed lunatic that was willing to kill you guys for her?" Hawke asked incredulously.

"We all handle stress differently," Anders shrugged, "PTS can often make people relive the trauma, and if I remember, you were like a rage demon when your mother went missing, pushing us to keep searching and fighting,"

"Is there any way to get rid of it?" Hawke asked desperately

"Post-Traumatic Stress isn't like an infection Hawke," Anders explained, "It's not something I can just get rid of, it's a sickness of the mind,"

"So I could be stuck like this forever?"

"I think I could cast a mild calming spell on you, and it might hold some of the stress back," Anders offered as he picked up his staff.

Finding no other option, Hawke simply nodded his head, "Let's give it a try,"

V

At nightfall the slavers stopped to camp again, though this time they chained Fenris and Merrill to a tree to make sure they weren't going anywhere.

Merrill watched as Fenris hung his head in shame and defeat, her heart aching to hold him, keep him safe. But she knew that to be an impossibility right now being chained to a tree.

Merrill looked up to the stars, or what she could see with the looming clouds overhead, she tried desperately to finds the Shartan constellation, only to find nothing.

After a while of searching the Dalish heard Fenris mumble to himself, causing her to look in his direction.

"What is it Fenris?" Merrill asked with a hint of desperation in her voice, hoping that her lover would recover somewhat.

The male elf raised his head weakly so he could look her in the eye with his own miserable ones as he muttered, "I think it might snow,"

Tears started flooding Merrill's eyes at the words, she remembered their conversation about rain and snow, and how it affected their opinions on the world.

Snow meant he was expecting the worst outcome.

"It will rain Fenris, I promise you, you just have to have some hope that it will," Merrill pleaded through her tears and sobs, for even she was starting to have her doubts.

"What did hope ever do for me," Fenris said in a distant voice, as though he simply didn't care anymore, "other than tear my soul apart?"

"F-Fenris…" Merrill choked on her sobs, "You don't mean that,"

At that Fenris released a weak, mirthless chuckle, "Have I ever told you about the first time I was free of Danarius?"

Merrill shook her head.

"I was escorted him at Seheron for some busyness of his; I don't even fully remember what it was about, but we got attacked by some fog warriors and there wasn't enough room for both of us on the only boat back to the mainland. So Danarius begrudgingly had to leave me behind. The fog warriors took me under their tutelage, and for the first time in my memory, I was a free man, they taught me their ways and showed how they treated each other as equals, no masters to serve, we could do whatever we wanted. And they filled me with hope. "

"But that didn't last?" Merrill guessed, Fenris simply nodded.

"After a few months, Danarius finally mounted and led a search party to retrieve me, it didn't take long for him to find me, and when he did, he ordered me to return to his side. But not before he ordered me to kill the fog warriors,"

Merrill released a silent gasp.

"He said _'kill them little wolf,_ _kill them all'_ and I did as I was told,"

"But… why," Merrill questioned in disbelief, "Why would you follow his orders? You were free,"

"Was I really, a slave is conditioned to serve the master for some unrealistic hope that things will only be better to suffer the master's orders then suffer his wrath, I was too afraid of his wrath to questioned him, so I followed his orders, those words repeating themselves in my head like a mantra as I did it, _'kill them little wolf, kill them all'_ and I did… I killed every last one of them, '_kill them little wolf, kill them all'_ I killed the men, I killed the women, I even killed the children, _'kill them little wolf, kill them all'_ and when I was finished, covered in the blood and guts of those whom I considered family, like a puppy I walked back to Danarius expecting praise for my work. And you know what he did? He magically ignited my markings as he scolded me for not waiting for him, two hopes died in me that day, one was the hope that I'd be free of Danarius, and a twisted perversion of hope for his approval! I snapped, and I fled, managed to smuggle my way on a cargo ship, and my life as a Tevinter fugitive began, for three years I've been on the run, _hoping_ that I would be able to evade or fight off the slavers, mercenaries, and bounty hunters that Danarius would send after me, then I came to Kirkwall and decided I had enough of running, and started to hope again, that I could be truly free if I confront my past head on, only for me to get captured again, then I had to hope that I'd escape, and then I fell in love with you, and I hoped that we could have a future beyond all the heartache," he then waved his stub in the general direction of the slavers, "beyond this,"

The tears began anew as Fenris basically admitted that he loved her, but also because of his lack of hope that the future he wanted for the both of them would ever happen.

"'_kill them little wolf, kill them all'_ those words never left my head, I can still hear his filthy voice even now as clear as when he said it all those years ago," Fenris held up his stub for Merrill to see, "And I can't even oblige the words anymore, and this killed the last of my hopes that I had, of being free, and of being with you,"

"Fenris, I'm never leaving you again!" Merrill insisted, in equal attempts to convince both him and herself.

"You think they're going to sell us both to Danarius, you're a beautiful woman and a powerful mage Merrill, They will either make you tranquil so you can be an obedient sex slave, or enthrall you so they can sell you as an apprentice to another magister, and I will simply be returned to my own master, and possibly have my mind wiped if I'm lucky, depends on whether Danarius wants me to suffer in my memory of you and knowing that I'll never see you again,"

When Merrill turned her head away to cry in peace, she saw snowflakes.


	22. Which Choice Is In The Right?

**Yep that's right, another short chapter; but hay, Remember that poll I had were the options only said 'Fenris' or 'Merrill'? Well the options weren't names, but unfinished sentences, they were: "Will Fenris '_ _ _' '_ _' ' _' '_ _ _ _'" or "Will Merrill '_ _ _ _' ' _'" I will fill in the blanks of ONE of the sentences at the end of the next chapter, in the meantime, read this chapter.**

Chapter 20

To say that Sebastian was infuriated was like saying a high dragon's breath was warm. He was outraged that Anders and Isabela showed up with Hawke behind them, even if Anders claimed that he had casted a calming spell on the man to keep him under control.

Though he must admit, he did do quite a number on Hawke's face; which was currently hidden under a cowl that Hawke now always kept up. Isabela claimed that it was much worse before Anders used three powerful healing spells on the damage, the wound was now mostly scar tissue, and his lip was properly sealed so he didn't have a creepy grin on his face; but his eye was well and truly beyond help, too complex to bring the man's sight back, but the mage at least managed to repair the physical damage and Hawke now had a milky white sphere of an eye remaining in its socket.

"I should apologize," Sebastian was dragged out of his reverie by Hawke.

"About what?"

"Targeting you and your faith for my anger when my mother was murdered," Hawke admitted, "I was so angry about the fact that I was alone that I just needed an outlet and chose the Chantry to blame,"

"Hawke, You're not alone, you've got friends that care about you, good friends," Sebastian insisted, "If you think that they wouldn't go through the same hardships if you were in Fenris and Merrill's place, think again,"

"Even after all I've done?" Hawke questioned.

"Anders and Isabela just accepted you back into the group," Sebastian pointed out, "And Varric might be troublesome, but he's as loyal as a mabari hound,"

"I heard that!" Hawke and Sebastian shared a good chuckle at the beardless dwarf's expense.

"I think we're getting closer!" Anders called back to everyone as the lyrium vial in his hands glowing more vividly then before.

And with that, the group redoubled their march.

V

Merrill awoke feeling stiff, and it wasn't just from her body being in the same place for a handful of hours through sleep that was causing the stiffness.

She took in her surroundings and found a gentle covering of snow and frost on the ground. When she examined herself she discovered that she too was covered in frost. Her whole body ached and burned from the cold while giving weak shivers that contended with her sleep induced stiffness.

Glancing over to her left, she found Fenris asleep up against the tree; frost clinging to his hair which had turned murky brown from the stew, piss, and dirt that had gotten into it over the past three days. His face was gripped in anguish as he had what appeared to be a nightmare.

Merrill eyed Fenris' stub, the bandages on his wound was also covered in frost. She was well and truly worried about the illness he caught, wondering if he'll even make it through the journey. Should he? Knowing that only a cruel magister awaited at the end of the journey would it be best that he survive, or is it possible that he should just-

_NO, don't think about that!_ Merrill told her mind as another option came up, but she quickly buried it into the deepest part of her mind.

The Dalish turned her gaze over to the slavers, who were wide awake and comfortable. They all had gathered around a morning fire as they made breakfast, the smell of bacon causing the female elf's mouth to salivate. She opened her mouth as though to ask for some, only to close it immediately knowing that they would refuse her some for simply for asking. She knew that they would keep her and Fenris fed enough for the journey to Tevinter, but she was still starving.

One of the slavers made a joke that Merrill didn't hear and the whole group broke out laughing. It disgusted her to see them so relaxed, so calm and with their guard down; they could have been dockworkers on break, not armed thugs making a living by illegally selling other people for the highest bidder.

After a few more minutes of watching the slavers have breakfast, Merrill heard Leotok say that they should get back on the road; and with that, the slavers finished their breakfast and started to break camp. One of the slavers walked up to the two elves that were still tied to the tree. The man nudged Fenris by the foot to wake him only to get no response.

"Wake up you filth," the slaver demanded as he gave a stronger kick to Fenris' leg only to get no response. Luckily, Merrill could see that Fenris was still breathing, so she knew that he wasn't dead; he was most likely defying their orders to wake up, his only way to fight back at them.

The slaver gave a tired sigh as he pulled out a smoking pipe, put some tobacco into the end, lit it, and took a deep breath from the pipe before turning it upside down to dump the burning tobacco on the elf's head.

Fenris awoke with a start as he shook his head to get rid of the burning embers; the slaver simply kicked snow and frozen dirt in his face, "good, you're awake,"

Once the initial panic and pain left his eyes, Merrill saw Fenris take a look around until he found her, tied up next to him, and his face was filled with what appeared to be guilt. He then averted his gaze in shame and hung his head.

"It's not your fault I'm in this situation with you," Merrill whispered to Fenris as the slavers started to unchain them form the tree and transport them to the wagon. Once they were put on the horse driven vehicle Fenris doubled over as he released a series of ragged coughs; he looked extremely pale.

"Can't you see he's too sick to travel!?" Merrill pleaded with the slavers as they mounted their horses and took off down the road; giving little care for the Dalish' words.

"What do you suppose we do about it Princess?" Wendell questioned in his snide tone from the front of the wagon, "Pull over and waste another day just so the Filth can get better?"

"At least give him something for the cough!" Merrill begged.

"He'll tough through it," was Wendell's only response.

"And what if he doesn't?" Merrill questioned, "What if he succumbs to his sickness and dies? Danarius will have your heads for killing him!" Merrill hoped that the slavers would listen to her reasoning and help Fenris out; only for Wendell to give out a snort before saying,

"This isn't the first time we've transported sick slaves, if he gets any worse then we'll do something, but right now he's completely fine as far as travelling is concerned!" Wendell said in a tone that suggested that the conversation was at an end; but Merrill wouldn't let it end there.

Fuelled, and blinded, by desperation, Merrill quickly grabbed at the dagger sheathed to the slaver sitting next to her; she then quickly stabbed it into the shoulder of its owner to stop him before he could retaliate. After that she quickly ripped the blade out and lunged at Fenris who was sitting across from her and dragged both of them off of the wagon and into the snow covered road. Then she at last righted herself and looped her chained arms around Fenris neck and held the dagger against his throat as she bellowed, "Heal him or I'll kill him!"

Everything went quiet as the slavers, Fenris, and most of all Merrill assessed the situation. Fenris remained stone still as Merrill held a dagger against her lover's throat, praying to the creator's that the slavers wouldn't catch her bluff.

The slavers laughed.

"You honestly expect us to believe you'll kill him if we don't get rid of his ailment?" questioned Leotok, he was the only slaver not laughing, but he still had a mildly amused look on his face as he watched the events unfold.

"Um… ah… yes…?" Merrill said weakly, the slavers redoubled their laughter at the words.

Then everything went dead quiet again as Leotok shot everyone a harsh look that shut them up before saying to the Dalish coldly, "Well we don't plan on healing him, so why don't you prove that you're serious to us and slit his throat like you promised!"

Merrill's heart stopped as she heard the words, this wasn't going at all like she expected. The thought of threatening Fenris' life so the slavers would help him was the only thing that went through her mind when she grabbed the dagger, she was so sure that they would value their payment in Fenris' safe return to Danarius that she could pull it off too. But with Leotok seeing through her bluff ruined everything.

"Do it," Merrill had heard Fenris whisper weakly; that had truly scared her more than the slavers lack of interest in Fenris' health. She hadn't considered Fenris to be suicidal, it was something she would never have expected from the strong, stubborn man she fell in love with.

Then the thought she had earlier brought itself back to the forefront of Merrill's mind; the option that might be better than Fenris being returned to Danarius, the option of death.

The blade shook in her hand as she thought of what to do, should she oblige her lover's wish to die and be denied his return to a man so cruel as Danarius? Or should she spare him and continue to hope that they will get out of this situation alive, could she even continue to rely on hope to get them both through this? Merrill looked at Fenris' arm, seeing the bandaged stub that used to be his hand.

She then made her decision.

_**Author's note:**_

**You know, I think I'm starting to find the appeal in cliffhangers, it leaves the victims err… readers wanting more. Also there are only a handful of chapters left in V so we're on the homestretch.**

**Read, review, and I'll see you sometime in the (hopefully) near future.**


	23. Reunited

**Yep, I took a longer break then I intended. Though I think the longer chapter will make up for that. There's only one (Maybe two) chapters after this one, not counting the prologue.**

**Just a heads up, I've also started a new DAII Fanfic (Don't worry, I plan to continue it after I finish this one) called 'Dragon Noir'; while this new story is NOT a Fenrill or have the ability to be a Fenrill, It is new territory for me, specifically the 'modern AU' territory and I would very much appreciate feedback on its current 'test chapter' which is the first part of the actually stories first episode. So if you could check up on it and give me feedback, positive or negative, please do so, I really want to know what you guys think of it.**

**Thanks. **

Chapter 21

Merrill stared at her shaking hands as she sat on the wagon that was on the move again. She ran the events through her mind again and again; trying to make sense of it all as she did. She still wasn't certain on whether she made the right choice in regards to letting Fenris die or not.

As she looked up at the male elf sitting across from her, conscious and starring off into the distance, she knew that she quite possibly made the wrong decision in sparing his life.

Looking back on it, it was incredibly selfish of her to allow him to live, in a twisted sort of way. Fenris wanted to be free of Danarius at any cost, even his own life it would seem. She had almost made the choice to give him a merciful end, but she thought of the guilt she would feel in killing the man she loved and prioritized her conscience over his freedom from a harsh life.

She had once again, chosen hope over probability.

She had always been a hopeful person, in a flawed way. Keeper Marethari had always said, 'if you hope too much, you will eventually be disappointed' Merrill never truly understood that until now, she had expected a certain consequence from an action and was given another one instead. The Dalish First never could predict the future, it was a talent exclusive to the Creator's, the fact that she had always wanted and expected things to go another way without looking at the facts simply proved just how foolish she was. She had hoped that Fenris would be better off alive, that she could find a way out of this situation; but as she found no possible escape from the slavers that guarded them, she knew that it was nothing but false hope. She and Fenris would be sold in the City of Minrathous to separate magisters or highborn nobles. She would either be made tranquil and lose her mind as an obedient slave, or be put under a blood thrall spell and become an apprentice to a cruel magister, and she would never see Fenris again.

V

They had reached the outskirts of Cumberland, one of the free cities of the Marches, later that day. Knowing the anti-slavery laws, the slavers decided to make camp out in the woods just north of the city. Leotok took the majority of the slavers out to the city to resupply for the long journey ahead, leaving only two other slavers to guard the elves; one of which was Henrik, and the other Wendell.

Merrill assumed Henrik to be the healer of the group, though while Anders healed through the use of magic spells, Henrik used more conventional methods. The Dalish watched with unease as the slaver knelt down by Fenris and pulled out a medical kit filled with various assorted tools, herbs, poultices and salves, many of which were unknown to the elf.

"What are you doing to him!" Merrill demanded as the cruel man began unrolling the blood soaked bandages from the Fenris' stub.

"Checking the state of infection," Henrik replied simply as he examined the wound. He then brought out some salve and rubbed the substance on the open wound, causing Fenris to howl in agonizing pain.

"Let him be!" Merrill cried as she struggled against her bindings.

"Sometimes a little pain is required for-" Merrill blinked in utter surprise as an arrow suddenly appeared in Henrik's head; the healer then slumped over to his side, dead.

"What in the Maker's name is going on!" Wendell shouted as he grabbed his shield and sword. Another arrow, this one a huge crossbow bolt, shot it's self in the perverted ear-biter's thigh, causing him to fall on the ground in agony.

"Elf, Daisy, is that you!" Merrill had never been so happy in all her life to hear the deep, mildly hoarse voice that belonged to Varric, she turned her head to find the lovable dwarf, as well as Sebastian, coming out of the shrubbery a few yards off.

"Yes Varric! O' thank the Creator's you found us!" Merrill cried in elation as tears ran down her cheeks. Sebastian quickly got to work on Merrill's bindings just as she saw Hawke, Isabela, and Anders emerge from the tree line as well.

"Kitten!" Isabela squealed with joy, and wasted no time in crushing the poor elf in her arms once Sebastian got the restraints off, "Andraste's molten tits, Sweet thing! What happened to your ear?"

"You need to check up on Fenris," Merrill mumbled against Isabela's bosom as the pirate continued to hug the air out of her.

"On it," Anders stated as he entered that state of mind were there was nothing but him and a patient that needed healing.

Once Isabela had finally let go of Merrill, the elf quickly stood up and quickly asked for one of Isabela's knives, who reluctantly gave her one; she then proceeded over to the still screaming Wendell, and stabbed him in the chest. All of her pent up hatred towards the slaver was unleashed as she stabbed him again and again, long after he was dead.

"Merrill?" the Dalish then came back to her senses as she heard Hawke's voice from behind her, she stopped stabbing as she turned to look at Hawke, she was shocked for a moment at his disfigured face, then a mixture of elation and sadness overcame her as she quickly embraced the champion of Kirkwall. She soon felt his arms encircle her as she cried through the joy that the horror was finally over.

"It was so horrible, so horrible," She sobbed into Hawke's chest.

"It's okay Merrill, it's all right," Hawke reassured as he loosened his hold of her and wiped away a stray tear, "Both you and Fenris are safe now,"

"Fenris…" Merrill's eyes then widened as she shoved Hawke aside and ran to where Anders was examining sick elf.

"Fenris!" Merrill cried as she knelt beside her weakening lover, his gaze unfocused and errant, delirious from the sickness as he was.

"Will he make it?" Merrill begged as she watched Anders run a diagnostic spell on Fenris.

"We'll have to moving him somewhere more comfortable before I can properly heal him," Anders said in a professional tone as he finished examining the elf, "We got to move! Hawke Pick him up, but gently"

Everyone then got out of there as fast as they could.

V

For the rest of the day, the reunited friends ran.

They didn't dare look back, or stop for any longer than a minute; they simply ran in the general direction of east. Sebastian and Isabela took the lead, scouting ahead for any danger and trying to find a relatively defensible location for them to set up camp. Behind them was Anders, Merrill, and Hawke, with Fenris carried over the latter's shoulders unconscious. Finally Varric pulled up the rear with Bianca ready to fire should any slavers catch up to them; the group knew that they had a good head start on the criminals, but weren't taking any chances.

"I found a good spot!" Sebastian called to the rest of the group as the sun started to set. The exhausted friends came upon a small clearing with in a sunken depression about an acre in size.

"Looks as good a place to camp up as any," Hawke agreed as he carefully started his way down, being mindful of the sick elf on his shoulders as he did so.

The sun had completely fallen below the horizon when the camp was fully set, a small fire had been lit for warmth and light, and some tents were already set up.

Merrill sat on a pulled up log at the campfire, watching the tent across form her. Anders had ordered everyone to set up the medical tent first and had Hawke put Fenris inside before demanding some privacy so he could put all his concentration on healing the Lyrium warrior. It had been an agonizing hour of waiting with no one going in or out of the tent.

"He'll be fine Daisy," Merrill nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Varric's voice right beside her, she then briefly wondered how long he had been sitting next to her.

"Something changed between you two didn't it?" Varric said in a way that wasn't a question, but an observation. Merrill looked at the dwarf, who had become one of her closest friends; his usually carefree expression now one that was difficult to read.

"I… ah-" Merrill began, but Varric silently put his hand up to quiet her.

"You don't have to explain, I'm glad you two are finally getting along, nothing like a month on the run to bond," Merrill was internally relieved, Varric only thought that she and Fenris were now friends, she still wasn't sure of how the group would react to them now being lovers.

"I hope he pulls through," Merrill whispered quietly, but loud enough for Varric to hear.

"This is Elf we're talking about Daisy," Varric said reassuringly as he stood up, "he's pulled through worse,"

Merrill looked at the lovable Dwarf as she gave a solemn nod before Varric said in a concerned voice, "Though you should really get that ear looked at once Anders is finished with Fenris.

With that the dwarf walked off to switch places with Isabela who was coming back from guard duty.

"Is there any news on Fenris?" Merrill turned her head to find Hawke sitting down beside her; his hood pulled up to hide his disfigured face.

"Nope, still waiting," Merrill said solemnly, the two then sunk into quiet waiting as they watched either the camp fire or the tent; neither willing to say a word for a while.

"We were all worried about you two," Hawke began, gaining Merrill's attention from the tent.

Thank you for coming after us, you're a true friend," Merrill smiled warmly at Hawke, though a little strained, "When the slavers cut off his hand, he lost all hope, I struggled to keep him hopeful and alive, praying that you would find us,"

"You've always been very determined," Hawke complemented, causing Merrill to nod happily in agreement.

"Look, Merrill, I was really worried about you," Hawke began as he brushed aside of strained of hair out of Merrill's eyes. Her hair had group very long and messy over the past month.

"I know, you said that already," Merrill said as she started to blush under his gaze that was partially hidden under his hood, making her feel uncomfortable.

"I'm glad I found you…" Hawke said quietly as he gently placed his hand on her own.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT CAN"T BE HEAL?!" Merrill and Hawke got startled at the yell and turned towards the tent to find Fenris emerge and storm off up the incline and disappear into the woods.

"Fenris!" Merrill called as she got up and ran after him.

V

The elf didn't know where he was going until he tripped on a surfaced tree root and landed face first at the edge of a pond. Fenris quickly righted himself into a sitting position as he tried to use his remaining hand to scoop up some water; but without two hands to form a bowl, the water just dripped out of his hand as soon as he scooped it up, infuriating him further.

"Fenris?!" the elf heard Merrill's voice off in the distance, followed shortly by Hawke's and Anders' voice calling his name as well. He ignored their calls as he rubbed his wet hand over his face to try and get rid of the sweat and grim that had accumulated on his face. He had barely gotten any grim off when he heard the bush's shifting behind him. He quickly activated his markings and turned around to find Merrill standing there, her face full of concern.

"What do you want?" Fenris muttered spitefully as he deactivated his markings and turned his back to her.

"I just want to make sure you're alright," Merrill insisted as she took a step towards him.

"I don't want your pity!" The male elf growled like his namesake as he turned back to face her, his face filled with rage.

"Fenris, just tell me what's wrong," Merrill calmly asked.

""Why did you not kill me?" Fenris muttered coldly, "I was ready to die, I was willing to give up on everything, to escape from Danarius' reach, yet you wouldn't do it! In the time I've known you you've killed marauders, bandits, and various creatures, yet you got weak and squeamish when I begged you to kill me!"

"Fenris… I"

"I mean, what's the point in living if there's nothing to live for!" Fenris suddenly snapped out of his tirade at the sound of his words hitting his ears. He watched as Merrill folded her arms around herself as though she were cold, her expression shifting from concern to misery.

"Am I not worth living for Fenris?" She said in that weak voice that she uses whenever she felt completely helpless.

"Merrill, I didn't mean…"

"Of course you meant it!" Merrill interrupted spitefully, her expression turned to one of contempt, "What am I to you after all, a stupid blood mage that was foolish enough to actually think you had put your hatred behind you and had accepted, and loved, me. But that was nothing but a stupid fling to you wasn't it!"

"Merrill, please listen," Fenris begged.

But Merrill wasn't finished, "I was prepared to give up blood magic for you, to forget about the Mirror! All of it as long as you accepted me, but you probably still wouldn't accept me for who I am, as I'll always have that temptation you so fear. You let a single cruel man color your whole view of the world; it's not all black and white. Sure the temptation is there, but it's not as all-consuming as you think it is, some of us are quick skilled at resisting the desire for power, If they notice it at all- 'gasp'"

Merrill's voice hitched as Fenris reached out with his remaining hand and cupped her cheek with his markings active; allowing the warmth to say what his words never could. Merrill closed her eyes and tilted her head into the touch as her anger and frustration drained out of her.

"You are worth living for Merrill," Was all that Fenris had to say before the two embraced in a lingering kiss. The two got lost in their own world for a while, for nothing else seemed to existed but them, not the slavers, Fenris' lost hand, Merrill's blood magic, none of it. It didn't end until they needed air; and even then they still clung together, each being the other's anchor that promised them safety, and something to rely on.

"You could use a bath," Merrill suggested as she started on Fenris' shirt.

"I would require some help on that," Fenris replied with a smirk; deliberately leaving out the fact that he couldn't properly wash himself with only one hand.

Once Merrill got Fenris out of his cloths, she started removing her own; while she did this Fenris made his way into the pond, testing the water before fully submerging himself in the cold water so he could adjust more quickly. The water feeling like medicine coursing through his whole body; removing not only weeks of dirt, grime, and sweat, but just as much negative energy as well. Once he finally came up for air, his lover was already wading into the water, shivering as she adjusted.

"Come here," Fenris said in that low baritone voice of his to coax Merrill over, and the two swam towards each other and resumed their lingering embrace as the warmth coursed through them and seemed to meld their bodies into one.

From beyond the tree line, unknown to the lovers; was a single, hazel eye brimming with hatred as it watched the two…

_**Author's note:**_

**Based on your previous reviews, I think I can say with confidence that you will all be looking forward to the next chapter with baited breath.**


	24. The Ultimate Sacrifice Part I

**Here is the first part of the last chapter, more filler the anything so I can get to the final, important bits. Does have some character development as secrets are revealed and others are hinted at. I hope I did well as part two of this will be the finale.**

**Chapter 22 **

Hawke couldn't believe his eye; for it must have been some horrendous nightmare brought on by a cruel demon of the highest caliber.

Garrett had stumbled upon Fenris and Merrill in a loving embrace. The lyrium warrior had his arms wrapped around her as their mouths clung together. He watched as Merrill undressed Fenris before getting out of her own clothing, the two getting into the pond and washing up.

When he saw Merrill mount Fenris right there in the water he felt something crack in his enclosed fist. He opened his whitened hand and found the Silverwood ring he had intended to give to Merrill as a gift broken into pieces by his own rage induced strength, some of the wood splintering into the flesh of his palm.

Taking a deep breath that did nothing for his growing anger and hatred, Hawke turned his gaze away from the elven lovers and headed back to camp.

V

"Here, let me help you with that," Merrill insisted to Fenris as he struggled with the leather straps of his chest plate. Fenris was going to reject the offer, wanting to practice getting ready with one hand by himself, but Merrill didn't give him a choice in the matter as she walked up to him and started fastening the straps.

As she did this Fenris soaked in every detail of his lover; her focused expression as she performed the task, the light humming that she emitted from her closed mouth, the water that continued to drip from her locks of dark hair, all of it made her all the more beautiful.

Once Merrill finished getting Fenris' chest plate fastened on they started their way back towards camp.

"Should we, you know, tell the others?" Merrill questioned as they neared the rim of the clearing where camp was set, "About us, that is,"

"Let's just, focused on getting back to Kirkwall before we tell them anything," Fenris reasoned.

They came back to the camp with only Varric and Hawke standing guard, the others likely still searching for them. The champion was busy sharpening his longsword and didn't notice the elves return, or appeared not to; Varric was on his feet and hurrying towards them in an instant.

"Andraste's ass, thank The Maker you found him Daisy!" Varric exclaimed as he greeted the two elves.

"Yea, thank The Maker," Hawke muttered in a cold tone, still not taking his eyes off of his sword. Varric glanced back at the champion for only a second in bewilderment before turning his gaze back to Fenris and Merrill.

"Where'd you find him?" Varric questioned as he noticed their wet hair and clean skin, "and why are you both wet?"

"Oh, a… we, I… found him by a pond, he tripped and fell in, I went in to pull him out," Merrill lied through her teeth. Varric raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't press the issue any further.

"Well, whatever happened, glad to have you back Elf," Varric said as he gestured the two towards the campfire. The dwarf then pulled Hawke to the side and out of the elves considerable earshot as he whispered to the champion, "Okay, what did you see?"

"What made you think I saw anything?" Hawke muttered back.

"Three reasons," Varric said with said many number of fingers held up, "One, you came back from the search earlier then was agreed upon by the group without Fenris and no explanation why. Two, given that the elves cloths are dry, Daisy's story doesn't add up unless they were both naked when Fenris tripped into the pond. And three, I know about your feelings for Daisy, Anders told me."

"Anders told you!" Hawke growled, but Varric held his ground.

"Yes he did, and he was concerned about you so he asked me to help keep an eye on you," the beardless dwarf admitted, "Now I don't know exactly what you saw or what happened between the two of them but I for one am just glad we found our friends, and you should be too!"

Hawke seemed to deflate in his anger as he sheathed his sword and walked into his tent for the night.

Varric released a breath he didn't know he was holding as he patted Bianca on the stock as he muttered, "Sweetheart, that was perhaps the only time in memory that I would have hated using you, but I'm also afraid of the repercussions for not,"

V

Anders, Isabela, and Sebastian returned later that night to find Fenris back at the camp. Varric explained that Hawke had to rest for the night, giving Anders a knowing look as he said so. Once the prince and the pirate went about guard duty, Varric and Anders approached Fenris and Merrill at the campfire.

"I should apologize," Fenris offered Anders, to the bewilderment of the mage, "I didn't thank you for removing my sickness, and got mad about my lost hand,"

"And I'm sorry that I couldn't help you in that regard, healing magic can do only so much," Anders admitted, he then turned his gaze towards Merrill, "I should really look at that ear,"

"Sure thing," Merrill agreed as the mage placed a gentle hand on the elf's ear and used his healing abilities to seal up the wound.

"Thanks for the healing," said Merrill as Anders went over to his tent to rest for the night, leaving Fenris, Merrill and Varric alone by the campfire.

The three remained in silence for a while, content with the warmth of the fire that flickered and danced before them. Varric silently observed Fenris and Merrill out of the corner of his eye as he pretended to run a maintenance check on Bianca. He noticed the way that Fenris would sneak a sidelong glance at the Dalish elf with those 'puppy eyes' every now and then, and how Merrill would scoot a little closer to the wounded warrior when she thought no one was looking, it was all as though they were now at ease with each other.

Or, as Varric suspected, a little more than that.

V

Later that night, when everyone else had nodded off, Fenris rose out of his tent and headed towards the camps barrier in nothing but his trousers and a light shirt, looking for a particular individual.

"Hey, handsome, out for a midnight stroll?" Fenris knew who it was before he even turned around.

"Not quite Isabela," Fenris stated in a matter of fact tone, "I just need some help, from you actually,"

V

Merrill awoke the next morning feeling better then she had in a month, the demons didn't plague her mind as relentlessly as they have in recent time, not by much, but enough that it did a noticeable amount for her state of mind.

She got up and got dressed before heading out of her personal tent to find Anders and Varric preparing breakfast with some eggs, and Hawke sitting on a log still sharpening his sword in quiet concentration.

"Good morning Merrill, how'd you sleep?" Merrill turned around to find Sebastian carrying a freshly caught red fox over his shoulder.

"Very well Sebastian," Merrill admitted, "say, where's Fenris?"

"Over there," the prince indicated with his free hand towards the rim of the depression, hidden behind the tents, "he's practicing with Isabela,"

"Practicing?" Merrill questioned with a worried tone in her voice.

"Yea, poor guy has been at it all night, won't allow either of than to rest until he's got it down," This caused Merrill to hurry over towards the area that the prince indicated to find Fenris and Isabela practicing with the Pirate's knives.

"You've got to be quick on your feet, handsome," Isabela taunted/instructed as Fenris barely blocked the Pirates swing with a knife of his own.

"I'm not used to having to fight as close as you are, the reach is all wrong," Fenris stated as he struggled to adjust with the smaller and lighter weapon. When he gave a quick swing at the pirate, Isabela expertly countered it, sending the elf's blade into the air in the process, and deafly caught it in her free hand before sheathing the weapons on her back.

"I think the knife is all wrong with you," Isabela pointed out, "You're too used to the reach that a greatsword can give you, but without both your hands you can't exactly carry one anymore. Might I suggest the shortsword, it's one handed and has more reach for you?"

"That might be better I suppose," Fenris admitted as he turned his gaze to find Merrill silently observing, "Morning Merrill,"

"Morning Fenris," Merrill returned the greeting, "Isabela,"

"Hello Kitten, you sleep peacefully?" Isabela inquired.

"Ir Atisha, ma serannas Lethallan," Merrill said in Elvish, much to Isabela's confusion.

"I'll assume from your smile that that is a yes," Isabela suggested, before turning back to Fenris, "Anyway, I'm going to ask Hawke if he is willing to have you borrow is sword for practice,"

The two elves watched as the slattern strutted towards the center of camp, leaving the two secret lovers relatively alone at the moment.

"Trying to relearn how to fight?" Merrill Inquired as she approached Fenris.

"I need to protect myself in case something bad happens," Fenris reasoned as he wiped his sweaty brow, "In case the slavers come back, which I'm certain they will,"

"At least you can practice with ordinary weapons, Anders has only the one staff and I'm not about to use… blood magic," Merrill admitted.

"You really are willing to give up on blood magic for me?" Fenris asked as a sort of half smile playing across his lips.

"That's what you'd want isn't it?" Merrill questioned, "If I must choose between us and the Mirror, I'd choose us,"

Fenris couldn't help but lay his hand against her cheek as he said, "you have no Idea how happy I am for you, for us,"

"You were right all along about the demon; first thing I'm doing when I get back to Kirkwall is to get rid of that accursed mirror," Merrill said as she leaned into his touch,

"First thing I'm doing is getting a drink at The Hanged Man, care to join me afterwards?" Fenris offered before leaning down to kiss her gently on the lips and pulling her into an embrace. They didn't stop until they heard the familiar sound of a sword being pulled from its sheath.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Hawke said as he approached the two elves that quickly separated.

"Hawke, it's… I… we were"

"You don't need to explain anything Merrill," Hawke interrupted, his tone cold and dark, "I saw you two at the pond last night,"

"You saw… us…" Merrill questioned in disbelief.

"What do you want Hawke?" Fenris inquired suspiciously, sensing that something just wasn't right.

"Hmph, what I want is clearly out of reach now," Hawke then eyed Merrill much like predator looks at a meal, "but I'm here to help you train with my sword, right?"

"Merrill, go back to the campfire," Fenris urged his lover on with a gentle nudge towards the center of camp. Merrill reluctantly complied.

Once the two men were alone, Hawke walked over to the elf and silently offered his sword, Fenris eyed it suspiciously before hesitantly taking it into his hand, the weight feeling a bit on the heavy side, but he shifted his grip a little bit and until it felt as right as it could.

"So, You and Merrill?" Hawke questioned as he readied his shield. Fenris took a test swing at the champion who swiftly blocked it.

"We have grown… quite close during our time in on the run," Fenris admitted as Hawke did a simple shield bash which he barely countered.

"I see," Hawke replied emotionlessly as he and Fenris started circling each other. Fenris held the sword horizontally, his arm tucked in against his side with the blade level to his face, waiting for an opening. The elf knew that charging in brazenly to overwhelm his opponent like he normally does would get him quickly beaten, he needed to look for an chance to exploit an opening and take his enemy down.

"I'll be honest Fenris, I was worried about what I'd find when we caught up to you two," Hawke said snidely as he took a step forward, testing to see how prepared for a strike Fenris was, "Of course all the bad scenarios running through my head couldn't have prepared me for what we found,"

"And that would be?" Fenris inquired as he took a lunge at the champion, who tried to block it only to fall for the elf's last second feign and Fenris managed to hit Hawke with the flat of the blade.

Hawke put on a mirthless smile as he replied, "You and Merrill's condition of course,"

Fenris knew instantly that Hawke wasn't talking about the missing hand and bitten off ear, "Get to the point,"

The next thing Fenris knew he was lying on his back with the sword out of his hand and the world spinning as Hawke loomed over him, his face sporting a grim expression as he muttered threateningly, "The point is, I remember the conversation we had when we first met; you had insulted Merrill for being a mage, and I told you that having a problem with her was having a problem with me, and that you wouldn't want that. So I'll say this clearly, you now have a problem with me, but I'll respect you two out of our _former _friendship, but do anything that that would have me even suspect that you aren't faithful and respectful to her, anything at all, and your missing hand will be the least of your worries, get it?"

Fenris emitted a barely audible growl at the champion before answering spitefully, "Understood,"

Hawke then walked over to where his sword had fallen, sheathed it, and walked away as he said, "I think that's enough training for today,"

Fenris pulled himself up as he realized that he had quite possibly have made a very dangerous enemy.

V

"So, how was training?" Merrill asked cheerfully as Hawke and Fenris returned from practice, though her smile faded slightly as she saw the grim looks on their faces. She decided to focus on Anders and Varric as they started plating the eggs while Sebastian finished skinning the fox and started adding the meager meat to the cooking pot over the fire.

Merrill sensed Fenris sitting down beside her as she watched her friends cook, she then felt a hand gently grab her chin and guild her face to his in a lingering kiss. She folded her arms around him as they seemed to melt into an embrace. Once Fenris removed his lips from hers she watched as his eyes showed great determination and possibly possessiveness.

It wasn't until Isabela's catcall did she realized that they had an audience.

"Maker's breath, that's something I thought I'd never see,"

"Oh boy,"

"hehe, go on…"

Merrill covered her face in her hands to try and hide the blush, and smile, from the onlookers. She felt Fenris' hand hook onto her shoulder for security, relaxing her.

"So I take it you two are a couple now?" Sebastian questioned. The two elves simply looked at each other before they both nodded in agreement.

Aside from the occasional probing question; breakfast went on without incident and in silence as the reunited companions ate their eggs and fox stew before efficiently packing up camp and heading out. It was still a two week journey to Kirkwall and they intended to make as much time as possible.

It was midafternoon when Fenris found himself constantly questioned by Varric and Anders while he saw further ahead that Merrill was suffering from a similar line of questioning from Isabela, only with the added question of just how far down his markings travelled no doubt. The elf's frustration growing as Varric demanded details for his abhorrent friend-fiction and Anders smugly calling him a 'mage-lover' after all.

"Just because I'm now in love with one mage doesn't mean that my views of certain other mages have completely changed, if at all!" Fenris warned the healer, "I'll still be keeping an eye on you when you finally succumb to your demon completely,"

"It's true what they say then," Varric said cryptically, "The more things change, the more the stay the same,"

"So, how was it to 'sheath' his 'sword'?" Isabela questioned the poor Dalish elf who was blushing furiously, "Ah, that good uh?"

"Isabela!" Merrill muttered as she tried to cover her face again.

The Pirate chuckled at that before saying, "Don't worry kitten, if you ever need any advice on how to make him enjoy your every touch, just come to me,"

"Umm, I kind of already have that down," Merrill said shyly, "His markings seem to react positively to my touch, and it's all very fascinating,"

"Oh, I bet," the pirate said as her gaze seemed to become unfocused as she likely fantasized some very naughty things, before suddenly coming back to reality as she said seriously, "and remember kitten, if he ever hurts you, just let me know and I'll take care of it,"

"What do you mean by that?" Merrill questioned in slight confusion.

"oh, don't worry about it Kitten," Isabela reassured as she put her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders in a friendly hug, "Now, I want details,"

"I really think we should travel on the road, we'll be able to get back to Kirkwall faster that way," Hawke insisted to Sebastian, the two taking the lead as they tried to navigate the wild forest terrain.

"The slavers would be looking for us on the roads, It would be best if we stayed off them to avoid being spotted," the Exiled Prince reasoned to the champion of Kirkwall.

"True," Hawke muttered coldly, the two then fell into a grim silence for a while until Sebastian spoke up.

"You're angry about Merrill being in love with Fenris and not you," It wasn't a question.

"Did Anders tell everyone about my feelings for Merrill?" Hawke replied venomously.

"I overheard Varric and Anders talking about it," Sebastian elaborated.

Hawke released a sigh of exhaustion as he said mostly to himself, "Why him and not me?"

"Why does anyone love who they love," said Sebastian, his voice getting lower and more guilty with every word he spoke, "It is not something we can control Hawke, I don't think even The Maker decides for us,"

Hawke noticed the self-guilt in the Prince's tone, "You had a similar experience?"

"Not the same as yours Hawke, but it did lead my parents to sending me to the Chantry as punishment," Sebastian said cryptically, not wanting to talk any further about his greatest personal sin.

It was at that moment that an arrow went flying by their heads, barely missing them and imbedding itself into a nearby tree.

_**Author's note:**_

**Sorry if the chapter is a little jumpy in the transitions.**


	25. The Ultimate Sacrifice Part II

**And here is part two, not much else I can say other than thanks for being with me for the past two years.**

**Chapter 22 part II**

"Form up!" Hawke immediately ordered upon the realization that they were under attack. Everyone with weapons drew them, and formed a protective circle around Fenris and Merrill as they waited for the inevitable onslaught.

"Give up the elves and I promise your deaths to be quick and painless!" the group heard a voice call out to them from beyond the thicket of trees that surrounded them, the elves instantly recognizing it as Leotok's voice.

"We need a better position," Sebastian suggested as he kept his eyes for any of the slavers.

"Varric, Isabela!" Hawke called to the rogues, "Use your smoke bombs to obscure their vision while we look for a more defendable position,"

The storyteller and Pirate each tossed their smoke bombs onto the ground, causing them to detonate and hide the group in a cloud of thick smoke; they all then started charging out in the general direction of west in a hurry. As they passed a tree that was hiding a slaver with an arrow notched, the archer sent his arrow flying towards Anders head, but Hawke swiftly intercepted and blocked the projectile with his shield as Sebastian quickly notched an arrow of his own and fired it at the slavers forehead, killing him instantly.

They soon came to a clearing and reformed into a defensive circle, everyone searching the tree line for the slavers. Another arrow came out of nowhere, this one actually hitting its make in Isabela's shoulder, forcing her to double over in pain as her arm became useless. More arrows started flying towards them, and in response Anders quickly summoned an arcane shield all around the party to protect them from the arrows, which stopped and fell harmlessly as though hitting a wall.

It was at that moment that six men emerged from the tree line with weapons drawn charging the party, Varric and Sebastian unleashed arrow after arrow at the men but it wasn't enough to prevent them from reaching the group and engaging them in combat.

One broke through the lines and charged Fenris and Merrill with sword ready, but he got blocked by Hawke's shield who leaped between the slaver and his prey, Anders then casted crushing prison on the slaver to hold him in place as Hawke gave a swift swing with his sword and decapitated him.

"Get out of here, we'll hold them off!" Hawke ordered the elves as he clashed swords with Leotok.

Merrill remained frozen until she felt Fenris grab her arm and pull her with him to get out of the fighting. The Dalish watched as Varric took on a slaver with Bianca's bayonet as a sword, Isabela trying to fight off another slaver with her one good arm, and Sebastian deftly swap between dagger and bow as melee weapons.

The forest ran by in a blur of brown and reds and oranges from the autumn leaves as the elves tried to get away, the sounds of fighting becoming quieter and quieter as with each step. It wasn't until that they couldn't hear the fighting anymore did they stop for a breather.

"We have to go back!" Merrill exclaimed as her conscience and guilt got the better of her.

"Going back would detriment their efforts Merrill!" Fenris replied back as he caught his breath, "they've handled tougher fights than this,"

"Isabela has an injured arm and Leotok is a Templar," Merrill reasoned, "He'll make Anders spells useless, and he probably has a phylactery on you so running won't help if they overcome our friends!"

"We'll just get in the way," Fenris insisted.

"Those are good people that don't deserve to pay for our freedom with their lives," Fenris had felt his heart skip a beat as Merrill practically repeated the same words that she had said after he tricked her to destroy the Slaver ship full of elven slaves. It made him realize what he had to do.

V

They were losing.

Somewhere along the fight Garrett Hawke had lost his shield and was now fighting with only his shortsword as Leotok continued to press with his longsword. Everyone in the group was covered with wounds as they tried to fight off what was perhaps the most evenly matched group of enemies that they have ever encountered.

Hawke charged in for a downward swing to hopefully break his opponents guard; but thanks to his missing eye he had trouble with depth perception and swung too early, hitting air and getting hit in the head with the pummel of the slaver's sword, sending him to the ground in pain.

Though his pain addled mind he saw as everyone else was bested by the slavers, not killed thankfully, as they got apprehended.

V

Fenris and Merrill returned to find their friends disarmed and held with knives at their throats.

"I'll make this incredibly simple Fenris: you will surrender or watch your friends die and then surrender," Leotok said threateningly as he held his knife a little closer to Hawke's throat.

"You promise to let them go if I come quietly?" Fenris questioned, holding his gaze with the cruel slaver that took his hand.

"Only if they promise to not follow us again,"

"Don't do it Fenris!" Sebastian yelled, and got a knife in the shoulder in response, nearly forcing the prince to faint in pain.

"You can't expect us to just let you go with these bastards," Anders pleaded as he tried to get out of the slavers grasp.

"You must not follow them my friends," the one handed elf then turned to Leotok and said, "and you must promise to leave Merrill out of this!"

"Deal," Leotok said simply.

"What!?" Merrill questioned in disbelief, "Ma'Vhenan I'm not leaving you!"

"You must Merrill," Fenris pleaded, not willing to look her in the eye, "I must make sure you're safe,"

Fenris them walked over towards Leotok, who released Hawke as well as ordering the slavers to release the others, who were all bound by the wrist so as not to fight back when released. The slaver then hooked up chain around Fenris' neck and wrist so as not to fight back.

Then, without warning the leader of the slavers gave a signal to one of his cohorts. The man in questioned reached into his cloak and produced a one handed crossbow, the kind that the Antivan crows use, and fired a bolt at Merrill.

The world seemed to go still as Fenris barely had time to scream 'no' at the top of his lungs. The man's finger pulled the trigger and released the bowstring to pull the arrow forward. The momentum of the string carried the arrow through the air and towards its target that had no time to react and get out of the way. The arrow travelled with a murderous high-pitched hissing sound as it closed the distance and impaled cloth and flesh.

It was then, at that moment, that Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall, doubled over from the arrow sticking in his back, severing his spine at the midpoint of his back, and fell to the ground in front of Merrill.

Time seemed to resume for Fenris as he phased his body though the chains and unleashed a spirit pulse so large that it sent Leotok, and the slavers falling over onto the ground.

Sebastian quickly leapt onto his previous captor and wrapped his chains around the criminal's neck to strangle him to death. Anders picked up his staff and tossed it towards Merrill who grabbed it and started casting spells at the Slaver-Templar before he could summon a Smite on her and cancel out her spells.

Isabela quickly rummaged through the unconscious slaver that held her and found the keys to their restraints. She quickly unlocked her own wrists, before doing the same for Varric and Anders.

Merrill released every offensive spell she knew at Leotok until her mana pool dried up. Fenris then intervened with a sword in his hand that a slaver had dropped during the spirit pulse and the two opponents fought hard, but Fenris was quickly overwhelmed as he was still inexperienced with his remaining hand and got knocked to the ground ads Leotok loomed over him threateningly.

"You can't kill me without suffering Danarius' wrath," Fenris pleaded as he tried to stand up but got kicked the slaver in the ribs.

"I DO NOT FEAR THAT PRIDEFUL FOOL OR HIS FILTHY PET!" Leotok bellowed as he raised his sword up, fully intent of killing his bounty right there.

Only to have a blade erupt out of his chest.

The slaver stared at the blade in shock; Fenris tilted his head to find Merrill standing behind Leotok with Anders' staff, which was bladed at one end, stabbed though the criminal's back and out his chest.

"You might not fear Fenris, but you will fear me!" Merrill practically growled as she twisted the blade and killed the slaver right then and there, fear written across his face.

Fenris watched in amazement as Merrill came down form her adrenaline high in the form of heavy breathing Fenris then got up all by himself and helped steady the woman as they simply calmed down.

The two looked over to their allies who had managed to kill off the rest of the slavers.

"It's over," was all Merrill said.

Anders quickly ran over to the prone form of Hawke and ran a diagnostics spell on the champion as everyone else formed around him. The healer stood up and shook his head, "It's not good,"

"How long… how long does he have?" Isabela asked hesitantly.

"Not long,"

Everyone remained quiet as Hawke released a ragged cough that produced blood, "Get me comfortable, please,"

Sebastian and Anders pulled Hawke to a nearby tree and laid him against it gently, being mindful of the crossbow bolt in his back. The seven companions remained in silence as the gravity of what was happening dawned on them. They were losing their leader, just like that.

"I… should make amends…" Hawke said in a tired, exhausted voice, as though he was drifting away, "Anders… Thanks for… looking out for me,"

"No problem, my friend," Anders said simply.

"Isabela, I know things didn't work out as you planned with the relic because of me,"

"Oh shut it Hawke, It was the right thing to do," Isabela said sternly, but sweetly as well, "I'll think of something to get Castillon off my back,"

The pirate then leaned forward and gave Hawke a caste kiss on the lips before walking away to cry, though she would never admit it.

"Varric…" said Hawke with a pained smile, "I know you're going to exaggerate this one,"

"A thousand arrows, not just one Hawke, not just one," Varric said in an uncharacteristically solemn tone.

"Perhaps some realism would be more appropriate this time," Hawke insisted, he then turned to Sebastian, "I know we've had our differences in the past, heck it shows on my face,"

"I know you don't have faith in The Maker, but whatever you believe in; I know your family is waiting for you, Garrett," Sebastian said to try and reassure Hawke.

"I would have led an army for you to reclaim your throne, Lord of Starkhaven, my friend," Hawke admitted.

The dying Champion then turned his gaze to the two elves, one whom he had considered a good friend, and the other a lover now out of reach.

"I realize now that you two are perfect for each other," Hawke admitted before turning to Merrill directly, "and I don't deserve someone as good as,"

"Don't say that Hawke," Merrill pleaded through tears as she took his hand into hers, "Lethallin, please don't say that,"

Hawke used what little strength he had left to move his hand and gently pull Merrill into a kiss on the cheek, not a kiss for lovers, but for siblings. He then turned to Fenris as he said weakly "Promise me… promise me you'll take care of her… Fenris,"

"I promise, my friend," was all that Fenris could say, and all he needed to say.

It was then that the champion of Kirkwall was reunited with his family, surrounded by the one he had made himself.

_**Author's Note:**_

**I think I stepped into AU territory with this one. Now all that remains is the epilogue, which you don't want to miss.**


	26. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_A few weeks later, in Kirkwall…_

"A toast to Garrett Malcolm Hawke, Champion of Kirkwall!"

"To Garrett Hawke!" The crowded main room of The Hanged Man echoed Varric's announcement as the beardless Dwarf stood on a table by the fireplace. The room was crowded with Hawke's colleagues like Worthy the dwarf, Athenril, and Lady Elegant, Half the city guard (that were currently off duty of course). There were those he had helped in the past like Martin the smuggler, Keran the Templar recruit, even Knight-Captain Cullen managed to come.

Then of course were Hawke's closest allies and friends who all sat at the same table. Aveline had only just gotten back from her honeymoon with Donnic when Varric and Sebastian had informed her of Hawke's passing. She was not much of a drinker, but she was currently the only one who was passed out with her head on the table from too much wine with Donnic messaging her back, thinking it best not to try and move her.

Anders, Isabela, and Sebastian sat around the table listening to Varric give his eulogy of the brave champion. Fenris sat next to Merrill, who was busy staring into her drink as she swirled it around, seemingly lost in thought.

"When I first met Hawke, he was not the great Champion we know of today, but another Fereldan refugee who had been denied to join my brother Bartrand's expedition. I had a hunch that he'd be invaluable to the venture into the deep roads, but I never would have guested at the legend he would make for himself," Varric took a deep breath before saying solemnly, "But I'm not here to talk about the legend, I'm here to talk about the man that created it,"

"Garrett Hawke was at first a simple farmer's boy with two younger siblings and a widowed mother to look after. To protect his home he and his brother Carver enlisted in the Kings army to fight the darkspawn; when he realized the battle would be a disaster he and his brother hurried back to save their sister and mother. Shortly afterwards, carver lost his life to said darkspawn. Heartbroken at the loss of his sibling, they continued here to Kirkwall, and the rest of you collectively know the journey he took to become the champion. But again, we're here to talk about the man, not the legend,"

"Hawke once freed an elven slave and hired her as his paid servant, knowing that she wouldn't make it in life by herself, born into slavery as she was. He helped our current Captain of the Guard unmask a conspiracy and removed corruption from those that were meant to serve and protect, not abuse and exploit; when his sister was being taken away to the gallows he broke the offending Templar's nose and was about to kill him if not for his sister intervening and insisting that everything would be alright, she didn't pass her Harrowing. Garrett even assisted a seemingly paranoid Templar in his search for a madman killing woman, a madman whom he slayed, but not in time to save his mother from the murderer's evil grasp."

"Let it be remembered that Garrett Hawke was a mortal like the rest of us, he felt pain, he tired, he hated and he loved, and he died protecting one of those whom he loved," Varric then raised his tankard and shouted, "To Garret Hawke, a true man!"

"To Garrett Hawke!" everyone then took a sip of their tankard before the room grew abuzz with polite conversation about the man that was Hawke.

Everyone, except one.

"Merrill, it's human tradition to drink after a toast," Fenris explained to his lover, who had yet to take even a sip of her drink.

"Oh, sorry, but I don't think I will," Merrill replied as she continued to swirl the drink in her hands.

"Is something the matter my love," Fenris asked, his tone full of concern as he placed his hand on his lover's wrist to stop her fidgeting with the tankard.

"No, nothing's wrong, quite the opposite," Merrill said in a way that suggested she was hiding something, "Anders simply told me that drinking isn't safe for the baby,"

"Isn't safe for the-" Fenris stopped midsentence as Merrill's words dawned on him. His jaw went slack and his eyes widening as Merrill leaned forward and gave him a caste kiss before whispering seven words that finally gave him something to look forward to in life.

"You're going to be a father, Fenris,"

_**Author's note:**_

**And so my fellow readers, we come to the end; it has been a long, hard, emotional, educational, and overall rewarding two years as I wrote this story for our collective enjoyment. I've never felt more accomplished or more proud of myself for finishing this story.**

**But this is not the end.**

**For I now can focus on something I've wanted to do for a majority of those two years, write the sequel.**

**Yes.**

**That's right.**

**More Fenrill will be coming your way.**

**And when you might ask? Oh, let's say… before this year is out. So be keeping an eye out for the first chapter of the second part of Fenris and Merrill's journey called 'Of Warriors and Mages' (Yes Hatsepsut, it's that 'Legacy' project I told you briefly about). So I'll be seeing you guys and gals in the foreseeable future. Peace.**


End file.
